Carrot soup with crisped chickpeas and pita wedges

I love pureed soups. I think mainly because I grew up on pureed "root" vegetable soup, carrot soup, and other varieties that my mom made famously. They're kind of gourmet, I think. However, I can't help but feel a little strange when I, personally, serve them. It's like, "here's a bunch of pureed vegetables - by the way, it's soup, not baby food." Anybody else identify with this?

When I saw this Smitten Kitchen recipe for carrot soup, however, I was drawn to the wonderful spices used, in addition to the crisped chickpea topping. Plus, I love the pitas on the side. I was sold. And rightfully so. This recipe is really delicious, and Zack loved it too.

Now, I will say up front that this recipe calls for a lemon-tahini dollop to be lightly stirred into the soup right before serving. I love this idea, but I just couldn't bring myself to buy a large jar of tahini, just to use 3 tablespoons. Done that before, and my $8.00 jar of tahini sat in the fridge and expired. I just don't use it often enough to warrant purchasing a large amount; where are the small jars of tahini out there? It's like tomato paste; you only need a little bit.

Carrot soup with crisped chickpeas and pita wedges

As adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients for soup:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 pounds organic carrots, washed and diced, or thinly sliced

1 large onion, finely chopped

4-5 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

Heaping 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus additional if needed

1/4-1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus additional if needed

Heaping pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

4 cups vegetable stock

Ingredients for chickpeas:

1 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and patted dry on paper towels

1 heaping tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Ingredients for pita wedges:

A few large whole-wheat pitas, sliced into wedges

Extra-virgin olive oil, to brush pitas

Sesame seeds, to sprinkle on pitas

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

Heat olive oil in large soup pot over medium heat. Add carrots, onion, garlic, coriander, cumin, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes; sauté until vegetables begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oven to 425 degrees F. Toss chickpeas with olive oil, salt, black pepper, and cumin until coated. Spread them on rimmed baking sheet and roast until brown and crisp, 10-20 minutes depending on size and firmness of chickpeas. Toss occasionally during baking. Once vegetables in soup pot begin to brown, add stock, using it to scrape up any browned bits on bottom of pot. Cover pot and simmer until carrots are tender, stirring occasionally about 30 minutes. Spread pita wedges on same baking sheet used for chickpeas, or a second baking sheet if chickpeas are still toasting. Brush pitas lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with sesame seeds, salt, pepper, and parsley, and toast until brown at edges, about 5 minutes. Puree soup with an immersion blender once carrots are tender, until smooth. Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with some crisped chickpeas, garnish with leftover chopped parsley, and serve with pita wedges.

Pretty fancy weeknight meal, right? But so easy. Really, the hardest part was chopping 2 pounds of carrots. Maybe do that ahead of time if you are able to and want to cut back on "prep" time.

First of all, the soup is incredible. Even by itself. I love the combination of spices with the carrot. I've actually been adding a bit more spice than called for to all of my recipes lately because I find that it kicks the heat up a notch and just adds flavor. Hence, the "heaping" being added to my ingredient lists, as seen above. This may or may not be your thing, but do play around with it.

Secondly, crisped chickpeas are great. I've seen a recipe for crisped chickpeas that uses cayenne in Power Foods, and I've wanted to try it (for an appetizer, snack, etc.), but honestly I thought Zack would think they were weird. On the contrary, he loved the ones used in this recipe. They're just delicious to munch on.

Lastly, sesame seeds on pitas is like the most wonderful thing ever. I will definitely be doing that again. These pita wedges would be so great served with hummus or any other vegetable dip for an appetizer or snack, again.

All in all, this meal was so successful and one that I will make again and again. Another meatless recipe success also. Who would have thought? Cheers!

Greek chicken with tzatziki

Cookbooks just might be one of my favorite presents to receive. Especially if they are wholesome and healthy with beautiful picture spreads throughout. I can read about recipes for days, but it's those pictures that spike my appetite and make me cook after a long day at work. So. Thank you, Mom, for The Sprouted Kitchen cookbook.

Today wasn't too long of a day (although, it was my first day back after a nice, long Christmas vacation). I've got some spiced quinoa cooking for tonight's dinner, so I thought I would do some blog catch-up. I still have recipes from last week to share!

I've grown to love tzatziki. Which is saying a lot. Because this girl used to not even like yogurt. Not to mention Greek yogurt. But I love it now, and that is all the matters. When you see this tzatziki, you will understand why I chose to make it. It's actually almost like a salad. Or a cucumber salsa (is there such thing...?). Whatever you prefer. Anyways, it is so cool (in a "taste" sense of the word), but so zippy as well. The combination of fresh mint and dill is fabulous. 

Furthermore, the chicken marinade, which has a lot of the same ingredients used in the tzatziki, is great. Awesome, fresh recipe that I think will be even better in the spring or summer (I want to try this chicken grilled as the recipe recommends).

Greek chicken with tzatziki

Adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen - A Tastier Take on Whole Foods

Serves 4.

Ingredients for the marinade:

1 cup Greek yogurt

1 lemon, juice and zest

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh dill

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh mint

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (pounded to even thickness of 1/2 inch)

Mix all the ingredients together in a shallow baking dish and toss chicken breasts. Let marinate for at least 15 minutes or for several hours in the fridge.

Ingredients for the tzatziki:

2 English cucumbers

¼ red onion, finely diced

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill

1 garlic clove, minced

⅓ cup Greek yogurt

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make tzatziki, slice cucumbers in half lengthwise. Use a small spoon to scoop out seeds in the center. Slice each half lengthwise into four or five long sticks, then dice. You should have about 3 cups. In a mixing bowl, stir together the cucumbers, red onion, mint, dill, and garlic. Add the yogurt, lemon juice and ½ teaspoon of salt, and pepper to taste. (Stir in yogurt and salt at last minute to prevent watery tzatziki (cucumbers release water a soon as they are mixed with salt).)

The recipe suggests grilling, but it's kind of chilly. So I simply sautéed the marinated chicken breasts in a pan and finished off in the oven until they reached an internal temperature of 170-175 degrees F. Let rest and serve with a large scoop of tzatziki and some warm brown jasmine rice.

Enjoy.