No such thing as bland chickpea soups in my world! Exploding with the flavours of your favourite Chicken Shawarma, except it’s in SOUP form with lamb and chickpeas! This is not spicy, the small amount of cayenne pepper gives it a tiny warm hum, so if you want it spicier, just add more at the end. Deceptively veggie loaded and is quick to make! Recipe VIDEO below.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
Total Time30 minutesmins
Course: Main
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Servings: 4- 5 people
Calories: 458cal
Author: Nagi
Ingredients
Spices:
2tspEACH cumin powder, coriander, paprika
1tspcardamon powder(can omit if you don’t have)
¼tspcinnamon powder
½tspcayenne pepper(adjust to taste)
1/2tspblack pepper
1tspsalt
Soup:
2tbspolive oil
2garlic cloves, minced
1onion, finely chopped
500 g / 1 lb lamb mince(ground lamb, or beef) (Note 1)
2tbsptomato paste
2carrots, peeled and chopped (about size of chickpeas)
600 g / 21 oz canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed (1.5 standard cans, Note 2)
Heat oil in a large pot over high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 1 minute until starting to turn translucent.
Add lamb and cook, breaking it up as you go. When it has mostly turned from pink to light brown, add spices.
Cook for 1 minute, then add tomato paste and cook for another 1 minute. (It smells amazing!)
Add carrots, chickpeas, tomato and broth. Stir and bring to simmer.
Cover with lid, lower heat so it is bubbling energetically but not crazy rapidly. Cook for 10 minutes until carrot is tender but not super soft – I like it to have a bit of bite still, if you want super soft, keep cooking.
Stir through spinach. Once wilted, adjust salt, pepper and spiciness (cayenne) to taste, and water if you want more liquid.
Ladle into bowls, add a dollop of yoghurt and a generous sprinkling of coriander. Enjoy!
Notes
1. Beef is the next best sub. Chicken, turkey and veal can also be used. Not sure about pork.2. CHICKPEAS - The net drained weight of canned chickpeas is only about 220g/7oz per can. I only use 1 ½ cans because I think that’s enough chickpeas for 4 to 5 servings, but you should feel free to toss the rest in. I just used the rest in a salad the next day.3. Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings. It's quite filling! The lamb accounts for about 295 calories of the total cal per serving shown. If you substituted lamb with 4 - 5 cups of chopped vegetables like zucchini, mushrooms so the soup volume per serve is still the same, then it would be 215 calories per serving. I will share a vegetarian version one day!