Chickpea Harissa Soup
Updated January 10, 2019
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced (about ½ cup)
1 large carrot, diced (about ¼ cup)
Kosher salt
6 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 to 2 tablespoons harissa, or to taste
2 (14-ounce) cans chickpeas
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Honey, to taste (optional)
Toppings (optional): More lemon juice, celery, celery leaves, herbs (cilantro, parsley, mint), capers, pitted olives, croutons or bread crumbs, soft-boiled egg
Nutritional analysis per serving (3 to 4 servings)
51 grams carbs; 396 calories; 9 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 16 grams fat; 14 grams fiber; 629 milligrams sodium; 15 grams protein; 10 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and a pinch of salt, and sauté, stirring occasionally, until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Stir in the harissa and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.
- Step 2
Add the chickpeas and their liquid. Fill a can with water, and add that to the pot as well. Season with salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chickpeas are warmed and the flavors have come together, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Now taste it: Add salt, water (if too thick), honey (if too spicy), and/or harissa (if not spicy enough) to your liking. Serve hot, with whichever toppings you like.
Soup can be made 3 days in advance.
Private Notes
Comments
Where does one buy harissa?
This was very good. I started with 2 cups dried chickpeas, cooked them with a few bay leaves in the Instapot, then transferred with cooking liquid to the carrot (4)/onion/harissa mixture. Added a can of chicken broth, another c water, 1/2 c rice, and some slivered kale and simmered for about 30 min. Served with parsley, cilantro, celery leaves (really good!), capers, and green olives on the side.
It’s soup. You don’t need to measure onions.
Easy recipe. I used two cans of chickpeas and their liquids, a can of diced tomatoes and a cup of red lentils. It needed more liquid so I added two cups of water. Delicious. But I probably could haves used even more water
This made a perfectly good weeknight dinner with bread and salad. It's easy and good for a "didn't get around to grocery shopping" week since all the ingredients are basic and easy to pull out of the pantry/fridge. I might use broth the next time for a little more depth of flavor that doesn't rely so heavily on the heat of the harissa and the sour brightness of the lemon.
Harissa du cap bon is widely available. It’s the best IMO