This is a soup that I came up with when it was a little chilly outside and I wanted a hearty soup. I love chickpeas in soup, and I normally make my Mediterranean minestrone when I want a hearty soup with chickpeas. I went in a different direction and decided to do a play on a jambalaya. Normally a jambalaya is a stew of meats and vegetables over rice, but I made a little tweak. I swapped the rice for chickpeas and potatoes, then used chorizo as the meat, finally, I stewed it all together until the flavors blended and it thickened up. I garnished the soup with olive crostinis, which I'll include at the bottom of the recipe.
Ingredients
Onion, Julienned 3 ea
Garlic, sliced 2 cloves
Crushed Red Pepper 1 tsp
Chorizo, sliced and halved 12 oz
Chickpeas, rinsed 60 oz
Tomato Juice 5.5 oz
Chicken Stock 1 Qt
Crushed Tomatoes 28 oz
Diced Tomatoes 29 oz
Oregano, chopped 2 oz
Avenue Spice 2 T
Water 1 Qt
Kale, blanched 2 oz per soup
Orange Juice 1/2 cup
Mixed New Potatoes* 20 oz
Roasted Peppers, chopped** 16 oz
Salt & Pepper to taste
*I used mixed-color new potatoes, but you can substitute almost any potato that is less starchy and more creamy.
**My neighbor had roasted and preserved some peppers from her garden and gave them to me. I used those in this soup, but you can either purchase roasted peppers or roast your own (Steps 1 - 5 minus the part about the corn).
Olive Tapenade
Mixed Olive Medley, pitted 8 oz
Kalamata Olives, pitted 2 oz
Calabrian Chili Peppers, finely chopped 1 ea
When I made this I finely chopped the pepper and added everything to a food processor and pulsed it until the desired consistency. If you want a more textured tapenade, I recommend cutting by hand and mixing to taste.
Method of Procedure
Sweat your onions and garlic on medium heat until they begin to turn translucent.
Add your chorizo and continue to cook until they begin to brown.
Chop your peppers and add them to the soup with all the remaining ingredients except your kale, orange juice, and potatoes.
Bring your soup up to a light roll and add your potatoes.
Continue to cook the soup on low heat until it thickens up.
While your soup is cooking and reducing, bring a separate pot of salted water to a boil for your kale. Blanch and shock your kale.
To serve, add kale to your soup and heat. Place in a bowl and garnish with tapenade or a crostini with tapenade.
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