Curried Chickpea with Harissa Yogurt

This soup came about when I was working at 6th Engine. We had harissa yogurt on some lamb meatballs and I wanted to make a soup that was able to utilize those flavors, but was a touch different. This particular soup is different from the one I made there. But the flavors are similar.

For this soup I kept it simple on ingredients, but I pureed a portion of the chickpeas to give it texture. I also salted some tomatoes and then pureed them with yogurt and harissa to give it a smoother texture with some bite.

I kept the garnish simple as well. I finely sliced some chives and gave it a splash of green. If you wanted to go the extra step, you could make a simple harissa yogurt and place some on top, or roasted red peppers for color.

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Ingredients

• Chickpeas, dry 32 oz (2 bags)

• Onion, diced 3 ea

• Garlic, sliced 4 cloves

• Carrots, diced 3 ea

• Chickpeas, drained 3 cups (2 cans)

• Vegetable Stock 2 qt

• Cumin 1 tsp

• Lemon Juice & Zest 2 ea

• Za'atar 1 T

• Red Curry* 1 tsp

• Yellow Curry* 1 tsp

• Harissa 1 T

• Roma tomatoes, diced 3 cups

• Garlic Oil 1/2 cup

• Greek Yogurt 1 cup

• Salt to taste

• Pepper to taste

*I used two different curries just to add a touch more flavor. You can just use one and double it up.

Garnish

Chives (or other green herb), roasted peppers, yogurt

Method of Procedure

1. Soak your dried chickpeas in water overnight.

2. Dice your tomatoes and salt them lightly.

3. Drain your chickpeas and toss them in garlic oil, salt, pepper, cumin, & curries.

4. Saute your onions and garlic in your soup pan. Cook until soft, about 15 minutes, while stirring.

5. Add your carrots and continue for another 10 minutes while stirring.

6. Add your soaked chickpeas and your drained chickpeas and bring to a boil.

7. Drop the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for 1 hour.

8. Using a stick blender puree the soup a bit. (Pulse the blender for 10 seconds at a time, until 1/4 of the soup is blended).

9. Take your salted tomatoes and add yogurt and harissa. Puree until smooth.

10. Add your pureed tomatoes & yogurt to the soup while stirring.

11. Season to taste and simmer for another 30 minutes.

12. To serve, pour into a bowl and garnish with chives.