Hey everyone!

It’s another windy, yet beautiful day here. With the chilly weather we wanted to bring back this awesome post we posted over a year ago on our good pal Chandler! Chandler used to work with us at Farm Cart Organic wayyyyy back in the day. Chandler is just a rad lady but also a phenomenal cook. She had a company called “ladle soup co” for a bit that was similar to the farm box subscription idea- but SOUP! Can you imagine warm soup arriving at your door each week? OH WHAT I WOULD DO TO BRING THAT BACK! I pretty much promise I wasn’t the biggest soup fan but after trying a variety of Chandler’s soups I was a fully committed soup lady.

Chandler was kind enough to share one of her amazing soup recipes and we’re so excited to share them again with you! Soup can be intimidating, but this one was so easy and so flavorful. She made a Harissa Chickpea Lentil soup that was so killer I could eat it for every meal (maybe I did), and the best part was, it was SO EASY.

INGREDIENTS:

• olive oil

• 1 onion

• 4-5 medium carrots

• 8 oz celery (4-5 stalks)

• 4 cloves garlic

• 1 cup green lentils

• 1 cup chickpeas (soaked overnight), 2 cans of chickpeas will also work fine

• stems of one bunch cilantro, chopped

• 2 tbsp harissa

• 2 400g cans whole peeled tomatoes

• 1 quart chicken or vegetable broth

• 1 tbsp cumin seeds

• 2 tsp cumin

• 2 tsp coriander

• 2 tsp turmeric

• Zest of one lemon and juice

HOW TO:

Cover chickpeas in plenty of water and let soak overnight.

Place chickpeas in a pot with bay leaves and a few large pinches of salt. Bring to a boil and then let simmer until soft. Meanwhile chop your vegetables. Dice onion, chop carrots and celery, mince garlic, chop stems of cilantro, and measure out your spices.

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot. Add onions and season with salt. Let saute until translucent, then add the garlic, celery, carrots, and cilantro stems. After a minute or two add your spices and let those toast and brown. Add in the harissa paste and let cook for a few minutes. Then add canned tomatoes, broth (you can also do a combination of broth and the bean cooking liquid from your chickpeas!) and lentils. Cook until lentils are soft but not mushy, stirring every once and a while. Add in chickpeas and let simmer for a few more minutes. Take soup off of the heat and add in lemon zest. Season with salt and lemon juice to your liking. Top with whole fat plain yogurt and cilantro.

Let’s be real, soup is sometimes scary. Here are Chandler’s tips for successful soup making:

1. Giving each ingredient time to cook is crucial. Caramelizing your onions in the beginning and letting them come to a golden brown is always a good idea.

2. Season every step of the way. Salt your onions or alliums right off the bat and with each additional ingredient taste and season along the way. Acid is also something that can often be forgotten but makes a soup that is flat become complex and well rounded. Finish your soup with a squeeze of lemon juice or a splash of vinegar. Choosing a complimentary flavor profile that you feel goes with the ingredients you’ve chosen.

3. Broth and beans made from scratch aren’t as hard as you think. Keep a bag of veggie scraps and bones (if your not vegetarian) in your freezer, add to it over time. Once you’ve filled the bag, add everything to a pot of water with a few bay leaves, sprinkle of peppercorns and some smashed garlic cloves. Add a teaspoon of white wine vinegar if using bones to release all the nutrients within them. Bring to a boil and let it simmer for a few hours. Strain, jar, freeze and you are set to go for your next soup. The liquid from cooked beans is also a great addition to soups rather than water!! Soak your beans overnight so that they are easier to digest and quicker to cook. When cooking them season the water generously with salt. 

4. If you over cook the veg, blend it. If you over salt it, dilute it with more broth or additional ingredients. Acid also counteracts saltiness. The beauty of soup is that it can be whatever you want it to be and can easily be adjusted. It’s hard to mess it up so trust your intuition! Taste, and ask yourself what does this need? And go for it.