Rustic Vegetable Chickpea Soup
Is your tummy (or heart) in need of a satisfying, wholesome, veggie-dense, comfort-food lunch? Look no further than this rustic chickpea soup.
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time30 minutes mins
Total Time45 minutes mins
Course: Lunch
Cuisine: Canadian
Servings: 6
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 stalk celery diced
- 1 carrot peeled and diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 ½ cups diced tomatoes from half of a 28 oz can
- 1 quart/litre vegetable or chicken stock
- ½ tsp dried oregano or 1 tbsp fresh, minced
- 1 cup small pasta
- 1 can chickpeas drained (or about 2 cups cooked chickpeas)
- 1 bunch swiss chard stems and leaves separated, chopped
- salt to taste
- ⅛ tsp cracked black pepper
- generous pinch red chili flakes plus more for serving (optional)
- ¼ cup minced fresh parsley plus more for serving (optional)
- freshly grated parmesan for serving optional
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery and carrot and saute until softened, but not browned (reduce heat if they start browning), about 7 minutes. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste, then add diced tomatoes, stock and dried oregano. Bring to a boil.
Stir in pasta, chickpeas and swiss chard stems; simmer until pasta is tender, about 10 minutes. Add swiss chard leaves, and stir until wilted, about 1 minute. Add salt, pepper and chili flakes to taste. Stir in parsley just before serving, and top individual bowls with more parsley, chili flakes and parmesan, if desired.