Chickpea Soup combines lentils, veggies, and chickpeas in a coconut and curry-seasoned broth. This nourishing soup is packed with healthful ingredients and is naturally vegan and dairy-free!
PREP: Open can of coconut milk and stir well. Remove 1/3 cup of coconut milk and set aside for later.
VEGGIES: In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots. Season to taste, I add 1/4 teaspoon each of salt & pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, curry powder, cumin, paprika, optional red pepper flakes, tomato paste, additional salt & pepper to taste (I add 1 teaspoon fine sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper). Cook, stirring frequently until very fragrant, about 2-4 minutes. Add in can of undrained crushed tomatoes and cook, mixing and scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pan for 1 minute.
SIMMER: Add the red lentils, vegetable stock, and all the coconut milk except the set aside 1/3 cup. (See Note 3.) Bring to a boil. As soon as it boils, cover the pot and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, add the chickpeas, return lid to the pot and cook 10 minutes more. Remove lid and carefully transfer 2 cups of the soup to a blender and purée until smooth (See Note 4).
FINISHING: Add the puréed soup back to the pot and stir. Add in lemon zest, lemon juice, and cilantro if using. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. If you'd like the soup to be thicker, blend a bit more soup. Ladle the soup into bowls. Drizzle the reserved coconut milk on top of bowls and serve with additional fresh cilantro and/or fresh mint. Serve with lemon wedges and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Note 1: Lentils: You’ll want to use dried red lentils for this soup. There is no need to soak the lentils before adding to this soup; we just rinse them off, and they're ready to go! We don't recommend using a different type of lentils -- they won't cook the same.Note 2: Coconut milk: Look for shelf-stable, not refrigerated, cans of coconut milk. You’ll find canned coconut milk on the international aisle, with Latin or Asian products. Be sure to use full-fat coconut milk for the best flavor and thickness. Lite coconut milk won’t thicken and give you the rich, full flavor that regular coconut milk will.Note 3:Chickpeatenderness: We like the chickpeas to still have a nice chewiness to them, so we add them after the lentils have already simmered for 10 minutes. If you'd prefer softer chickpeas, add them in along with the lentils.Note 4: Blending: When blending, make sure to secure the lid on tightly and select the “soup” or “hot” cycle. Increase speed slowly and watch it carefully to avoid soup exploding out or over. Remove the lid carefully as it will likely release a burst of steam. If your blender doesn’t have a hot/soup setting, you can compensate by replacing the blender lid with a folded towel and holding it in place with your hands. This will help reduce steam pressure.