Spicy chickpea and bulgur soup
This warm and hearty Mediterranean meal can be topped with feta cheese – or not, if you want to keep it vegan.
This soup is from this vegetarian cookbook. It features a hearty mix of vegetables, legumes, and whole grains, with just the right amount of spice to warm you up. The chickpeas and bulgur wheat provide a good amount of fiber and protein, and are low on the glycemic index, so they won’t cause dramatic fluctuations in blood sugar.
The recipe also fits squarely within the Mediterranean diet. Skip the cheese to make this a delicious vegan meal.
Servings: 6
Prep time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 large onion
- 2 large carrots, peeled
- 4 celery stalks
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 to 2 tablespoons harissa paste (2 tablespoons provide a fair amount of heat)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground caraway (or whole seeds)
- 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained (about 3 cups)
- 5 cups vegetable stock, homemade or low-sodium store-bought
- 3/4 cup bulgur wheat
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- Coarse Kosher or sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 ounces crumbled feta cheese, optional
Directions
- Finely chop the onion, carrot and celery into similar-sized pieces.
- Mince the garlic.
- Heat a heavy-bottom soup pot over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the oil and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the carrots, celery, and garlic and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for another 8 minutes.
- Stir in the harissa paste, cumin, coriander, and caraway and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Stir in the chickpeas along with one teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of black pepper.
- Add the vegetable stock, bring to boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, rinse the bulgur wheat and cover in a saucepan with cold water. Bring to a boil, then immediately remove from the heat and drain. Rinse with cold water and set aside.
- Just before serving, stir the bulgur, cilantro, and lemon juice into the soup. The longer the warm soup sits with the bulgur in it, the less soupy it gets. You may need to add a little more stock or water to loosen it up.
- Divide into soup bowls and sprinkle with some chopped cilantro and feta cheese, if using.
Nutrition information (per serving)
- Calories: 275
- Total fat: 9 g
- Saturated fat: 2 g
- Trans fat: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 7 mg
- Total carbohydrate: 50 g
- Dietary fiber: 3 g
- Total sugars: 1.6 g (0 g added sugars)
- Sodium: 180 mg
- Protein: 7 g