Chickpea & Bread Soup

December 2nd, 2008 | Filed under: entree, recipe, sides & bites | Tags: , , , ,

Chickpea & Bread Soup

Is it possible to make a delicious, flavorful soup with only 6 ingredients? I think so. And I think this might be my new favorite soup. I know I say that in almost every post, but this one’s just so good! And so easy. 6 ingredients, one pot and 30 minutes. Besides, it’s covered in melty, broiled cheese. Who can resist that on a cool day? No one!

I’ve actually been avoiding the kitchen since Thanksgiving — those 48 hours of cooking and standing and cleaning kind of took it out of me. So, instead of my usual weekend in the kitchen, I spent my time off putting up our Christmas tree, riding my bike in the Everglades (down a bike trail lined with real, live Gators!), and reading on the couch. It was fabulous!

So, I’m trying to keep it simple this week. Nothing fancy, or roasted, or braised. I’ll save that for the weekend. This soup is deceptively simple, but tastes amazing. It’s like a French Onion Soup with its bread and onions and melted cheese, but the toasted chickpeas add a meatier, heartier flavor.

This simple soup is really scrumptious and just perfect for a lazy dinner and a cold nigt.

Chickpea & Bread Soup

3 tbsp. olive oil (or unsalted butter)
1 yellow onion, finely diced
2 15 oz. cans chickpeas, drained and well rinsed
4 cups beef stock
3/4 a baguette, cut into small chunks
4 – 5 oz. shredded cheese (I used jack, but Gruyere would be awesome here!)

Set a large, heavy pot over medium heat and add 1 tbsp. of olive oil. Saute the onions for 10 minutes, or until they’re soft and almost brown. Remove the onions to a bowl and set aside.

Add the rest of the olive oil to the pot, then the chickpeas. Toast the chickpeas until they’re golden on all sides, about 20 minutes. Resist the urge to stir them too often, or they won’t toast well. You should hear the chickpeas popping in the heat. Give them a good stir occasionally to make sure they’re not sticking, but don’t worry too much if they do.

Once your chickpeas are golden and toasted, add the stock, using a wooden spoon to scrape any chickpea residue from the bottom of the pot. Add the onions back into the pot and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the bread.

Ladle the soup into oven-safe dishes or small pots. Sprinkle each one with cheese and place them under your oven’s broiler for 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and browned. Remove carefully and serve immediately.

Makes 4 big bowls of soup.

16 Comments on “Chickpea & Bread Soup”

  1. 1 Chickpea & Bread Soup | Low Price Cooking Info Blog said at 12:04 pm on December 2nd, 2008:

    [...] See the original post here: Chickpea & Bread Soup [...]

  2. 2 MyLastbite said at 12:13 pm on December 2nd, 2008:

    This looks delicious. It’s gloomy outside… this may just be what I need to warm my spirits. Thanks!

  3. 3 mary said at 6:05 pm on December 2nd, 2008:

    This looks and sounds terrific. I really like your blog, btw. I think it’s because we appear to have the same taste buds.

  4. 4 veggiebelly said at 7:00 pm on December 2nd, 2008:

    This is like a french onion soup but with chickpeas! This will be perfect for a cold night. Love the photo :)

  5. 5 maggie (p&c) said at 8:17 am on December 3rd, 2008:

    Yum. That sounds perfect. I bet we could use the Thanksgiving turkey broth for this, too.

  6. 6 diva said at 12:47 pm on December 3rd, 2008:

    this soup looks amazing and it looks like it needed loads of ingredients and slaving in the kitchen. thanks for putting up this recipe. definitely will make it because i just love everything about it. ;)

  7. 7 ronnissweettooth said at 9:14 pm on December 3rd, 2008:

    This looks amazing. I’m in love with garbanzos, so this will definitely be a meal this week. Thanks.

  8. 8 YeastSpotting December 5, 2008 | Wild Yeast said at 1:04 am on December 5th, 2008:

    [...] Chickpea & Bread Soup ~ bitchincamero [...]

  9. 9 foodphotoblog.com said at 5:41 pm on December 5th, 2008:

    Looks like the perfect comfort food for a cold rainy day. Nice food photography

  10. 10 Texas Deb said at 1:06 pm on December 6th, 2008:

    This is on the menu for dinner tonight. Can’t wait to taste it!

  11. 11 Jesse said at 7:44 pm on February 25th, 2009:

    I’ve been searching for some bread soup ideas to use up a stockpile of bread I’m amassing. This sounds perfect!

  12. 12 Dianne said at 9:13 am on February 27th, 2009:

    We made this soup for dinner last night — absolutely delicious! And just perfect for a blustery rainy night. I topped the bowls with white cheddar….I am having a Pavlovian response just right now, as I type this.

    Thanks for sharing this beauty!

  13. 13 Punk Princess Fashion said at 6:43 am on March 24th, 2010:

    Thanks, useful content. Helped me write some posts on celebrity jewelry. Added your article to my favorites.

  14. 14 Re-post: Chickpea & Bread Soup | bitchin' camero said at 9:25 am on March 26th, 2010:

    [...] Original Post [...]

  15. 15 A Few of My Favorite Things (this week) « anna cotta said at 8:44 pm on June 18th, 2010:

    [...] Are they beans? I don’t want to google it and ruin the intrigue. The rockin’ blogger Bitchin’ Camero (fo’ reals, that’s her blog. How rad!?) makes tons and tons of tasty tasty things. She [...]

  16. 16 Weekly Menu Planning for Singles, Couples, and Working People | Weekly Menu Planning for Singles, Couples, and Working People healty| Weekly Menu Planning for Singles, Couples, and Working People > | healty foods | healty diet | healthy food said at 10:15 pm on July 16th, 2010:

    [...] Chickpea and Bread Soup from the Kitchn [...]

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