It’s blizzarding like nuts out here, after a day of snow and slush and rain. I braved the sleet to the co-op, which was almost alarmingly full of people considering the horrible weather outside. I got two bags of groceries, and on my way out, saw a woman hunched over her shovel in just a long sleeved shirt and jeans, hurriedly shoveling the walk in front of her Vietnamese restaurant. It seems that on a night like tonight, restaurant owners should also be snug at home, and nobody should expect to be able to eat out.
Anyway, to keep the cold away, I made an African inspired curried coconut and chickpea soup. I got the recipe off epicurious.com, one of my many recipe staple sites. I made a few changes, to make it more vegetably; it can be hard in these cold months to swallow a cold salad, so I try to incorporate veggies into the warm things I make so I don’t just eat warm bread with butter all the time (although I still think this is much healthier than it gets credit for).
This soup is hardy enough to be a meal – it’s got chickpeas and rice and coconut milk, after all – but it’s surprisingly light and healthy. Since you’re using light coconut milk, it really doesn’t add much fat, and the veggies and soup make for a filling meal without weighing you down. It’s just the right kind of soup for winter, reminiscent of warmer weather while warming you up from your head to your toes.
Here’s the recipe:
Gather:
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 bunch chard, stems removed and chopped, leaves roughly chopped and set aside
1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes in a tea ball
2-3 large cloves garlic, smashed or pressed
2 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 zucchini, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup chopped tomatoes (canned or fresh)
1 teaspoon mild curry powder
1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk
3/4 cup cooked brown rice
2 tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
Do:
Heat the grapeseed oil at the bottom of a medium sized soup pot, over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, pepper, and chard stems and stir until glossy and slightly transparent, about 5 minutes. Add the smashed garlic and stir constantly for 1 minute. Add the broth, chickpeas, tomatoes, curry powder, zucchini, and chard leaves and bring the whole soup to a boil over high heat. Once it’s boiling, take it down to a simmer and let it bubble merrily for about 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk and rice, and salt and pepper to taste. Once the rice and coconut milk have warmed up enough that the soup is at a nice simmer, your soup is ready! Sprinkle fresh cilantro onto each bowl of soup and serve with a hunk of whole wheat bread.
Note: Canned tomatoes are best when tomatoes are out of season, but fresh tomatoes are always nicer. If you’re using fresh tomatoes, be sure to remove the skins. Here’s how: prepare a large bowl about halfway full of ice water, and bring a medium sized pot of water (about halfway full) to a boil. Gently lower the tomato into the boiling water and let it sit for about 20 seconds before pulling it out and dousing it in the ice water. The skin should peel off in a completely satisfying manner. I like to do the tomatoes one at a time because you’re just trying to get the skin off, not boil the tomato altogether. Once you’re done with the tomatoes, chop them roughly and set them aside.
