Tomato chickpea soup with roasted cumin

Where is the time going? Another crazy week at work has come and gone, hand in hand with more snow and another child at home with the flu since yesterday.

A few random questions I have been asking myself in the past days:

Who knew that picking up a report card as a parent would be almost as excruciating an experience? This week my oldest child got her first report card and I’m telling you, that walk down the hall, sitting in front of the classroom waiting to be judged, that feeling of dread, insecurity all came back in a flash. Except this time it involved someone I love more than I loved myself way back when, so multiply it by 100.

When did my children’s social life get more active than mine? I used to be out on the town almost every night of the week and between you and me, partying did not involve toy stores, runny noses, drop-offs and soggy layer cake.

Why is everybody surprised I am still riding my bike in sub zero temperatures? If you ask me it is much warmer biking than standing for ten minutes at a bus stop. And besides, entire countries function daily in this kind of weather.

So, as I mentioned above, temperatures are still below zero here in Italy. This is a dish that works perfectly on our side of the equator, to warm the body and soul but it also works well in the summer heat served at room temperature with a nice dollop of cool yogurt or cream. The recipe I followed actually described this as a quick soup to be made with precooked (or canned) chickpeas, so cooking times were much shorter than mine. Nonetheless, I feel this kind of soup benefits from longer cooking on low heat. Also, the next time I make this I think I will sauté some chopped garlic and onion in the pot before adding the spices and the tomato base.

Ingredients:
500gr (about 4 cups) soaked chickpeas
2tsp grated fresh ginger
1 green cardamom
2 cloves
1.5tsp roasted ground cumin
1tsp cumin seeds (whole)
chili to taste
½ tsp turmeric
1.5 cups canned tomato puree (I used the chunky kind)
olive oil
salt to taste
yogurt or sour cream to garnish
fresh coriander to garnish (I was out but it certainly makes a difference)


Roast the cumin in a pan (making sure it doesn’t burn) and grind it.

Mix together turmeric, salt and roasted cumin with the tomato puree and 2 cups water and stir it to mix.

Roast the cardamom and cloves in the pan you previously used for the cumin. Add the olive oil, the cumin seeds and the chili peppers if you like some heat. Once the cumin seeds start roasting add the ginger and cook for a couple of minutes.

Next stir in the tomato puree and let it let it cook for a few minutes at medium heat.

Add the chickpeas, cover and cook for about an hour and a half, or as long as it takes to cook them through. Add water if needed. When the chickpeas are ready, mash a few with the back of a fork or a hand mixer. Simmer a little longer, couple of more minutes. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, dollop of yogurt or sour cream and some fresh coriander leaves.

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