Simple Dinner Sunday - Chickpea Soup

Looking back over some of the Simple Dinners I've done, I realize what I consider simple may not mean the same to someone else. Simple doesn't always refer to  "open a couple of cans - and dinner's on the table in 5 minutes"... although it can. When I tag a  post as simple, I'm either referring to the preparation (easy to make), the time involved (that "ready in 15 minutes" thing), that I utilized whatever was in the fridge and I didn't have to go shopping for that particular meal... (which is always a bonus).

I even consider recipes as simple if I am talking about comfort foods and uncomplicated flavors.

Sausage & Kraut is a simple meal.. but if I have you fermenting your own cabbage and grinding your own sausage...it's just not terribly easy.



Then there are times, like today, where I am making use of common ingredients like canned or pre-prepared foods to cut down on steps - case in point, Chickpea Soup. This soup take 5 minutes to assemble and 30 minutes to simmer... it's about as easy and simple as you can get.



Chickpea Soup

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

2 14 ounce Cans Chickpeas

1 Quart Chicken Stock

2 Strips Bacon

1/4 Cup Parsley - Chopped

1 Teaspoon Whole Cumin Seeds

1 Large Onion - Chopped

1 Cup Frozen Shredded Hash-browns

Salt and Pepper to Taste

1 Large Sauce Pan

Scissors

Strainer

Open and drain the peas, retaining the juice
In the sauce pan on medium high, snip the bacon into julienne strips with the scissors into the pan
Saute until brown and add the cumin seeds
Fry the seeds just until they begin to pop and add the onions
Saute the onions in the bacon fat until translucent, then add the peas
Saute until most of the fat is absorbed (about 3 minutes)
Add the pea stock, chicken stock, hash-browns and parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Reduce the heat to low and simmer 30 minutes






Chickpeas