Easy Manly Fall Curry Chickpea Soup

Whoever says they don’t like curry should try some turmeric. Who doesn’t like turmeric? Yum.  haha.

My spousal unit insisted I make this soup, but I was skeptical. It was recipe in magazine, but we didn’t have many of the ingredients specified. And it just didn’t seem appetizing, especially with 6 cups of spinach!  I was wrong.  I substituted ingredients and amounts, cooking times and a few procedures and what came out was only a semblance of what was specified.  Below is what I used and did. This is now a favorite soup of ours.

Recipe

Prep time: ~15 minutes
Cook time: ~60 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 limes: zest from both, juice from one, slice another
• 2 slices uncured bacon
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 lb cubed Idaho Potatoes
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tbsp turmeric
• 4 cups Pacific Free Range Chicken Broth
• 1 to 2 cups unsweet Laura Lynn Coconut Milk
• 2 15 oz cans chickpeas
• 2 cups chopped Yellow and Green Zucchini
• 5 cups chopped baby spinach
• Kosher Salt and Black Pepper to taste
• Garden of Eatin Red Hot Blues Corn Tortilla Chips

How to get cooking!

1. In your Lodge 5 QT Cast Iron Dutch Oven (or large pot), over medium high heat, fry down bacon until cooked and grease released (~5 minutes), then add onion and garlic, potatoes, curry, turmeric, and lime zest, continue stirring until potatoes start to brown (~15 minutes).
2. Add chicken stock, coconut milk and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer without cover (~15 minutes).  Add chickpeas and zucchini, cook until potatoes soft (~10 minutes).  Mix baby spinach and juice from 1 lime then turn off heat, let cool (~15 minutes). (It’s delicious if you also add some cooked (leftover?) pork, chicken or more cooked bacon – just dump it in there.)
3. Ideally, you’d let it chill out in the fridge overnight, then reheat by bringing to boil and turning off to cool the next day. It always seems to taste better the next day, after the goodness had a chance to take hold.
4. Serve with slice of lime and some spicy tortilla chips.

Adapted from Lee’s Tatsoi and Curried Chickpea Soup found in Country Life Magazine.