Turkish cuisine · Soups & Stews

Chickpea Soup

Creamy chickpea soup with onion, tomato paste and cumin, partly puréed for a smooth body.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 400 g chickpeas (from a jar)
• 1 onion
• 1 carrot
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 l strong vegetable broth
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 lemon
• Salt, pepper

Instructions

1. Put the chickpeas in a sieve, rinse thoroughly and drain; peel and finely dice the onion, carrot and garlic.
2. Heat the olive oil in a pot and sauté the onion and carrot over medium heat for 6–7 min. until the onion is translucent and the carrot is soft at the edges.
3. Add the garlic and tomato paste and fry for 1 min. while stirring until the paste deepens in color and smells rich.
4. Pour in the chickpeas and vegetable broth, bring to a boil and simmer gently for 20 min. until the chickpeas are very soft and can be easily mashed between your fingers.
5. Purée about a third of the soup finely with an immersion blender and stir it back in – this makes it creamy while still leaving whole chickpeas for texture.
6. Season to taste with cumin, salt and pepper, ladle into bowls and serve with lemon wedges.