Heidi Swanson's Chickpea Stew with Saffron, Yogurt, and Garlic for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

I wanted a simple soup this weekend, one that was quick to make as I spent all day yesterday at a writing workshop. I pinned this Heidi Swanson recipe a while back from Food52.com and had most everything I needed to make it today.

Food52 says, "A spring vegetarian chickpea soup that's lush in all the right places (but won't lull you to sleep)."
 

Chickpea Stew with Saffron, Yogurt, and Garlic 
From Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson via Food52.com
(Serves 4 to 6)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

1 pinch fine-grain sea salt, to taste

3 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 1/2 (15-oz) cans chickpeas, rinsed & drained

4 cups vegetable broth

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/4 tsp saffron threads (2 modest pinches)

3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

1 cup plain yogurt (Greek or regular)

1 dash sweet paprika

1 small bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

 

In a medium-large pot over medium-high heat, combine the olive oil, onion, and a couple of big pinches of salt. Cook until the onions soften up a bit, a few minutes.

Stir in the chickpeas, and then add the vegetable broth and garlic. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat.

In a medium bowl, whisk the saffron and egg yolks, then whisk in the yogurt. Slowly add a big ladleful, at least 1 cup, of the hot broth to the yogurt mixture, stirring constantly. Very slowly whisk this mixture back into the pot of soup.

Return the pot to medium heat and cook, stirring continuously for another 5 minutes or so, until the broth thickens to the consistency of heavy cream, never quite allowing broth to simmer.

Ladle into individual bowls and serve sprinkled with a touch of paprika and plenty of chopped cilantro.

 

Notes/Results: A good, simple soup that has a slightly tangy taste from the yogurt that makes it almost lemony. It reminds me in a way of Greek avgolemono soup with the eggs stirred in--especially when served with the rice. A good rainy spring day soup, I'd happily make it again.

Linking up to I Heart Cooking Clubs for this week's April Showers theme. Heidi Swanson is one of our 19 featured chefs. 

We have Judee and Tina hanging out with me in the Souper Sundays kitchen, let's take a look.

 
Judee of Gluten Free A-Z Blog made 5 Minute Red Pepper Soup - Zero Points and said, "Red pepper soup is one of my favorite soups. But I often don't have the time or interest to heat up the oven to slow roast the peppers. After eating this delicious soup at a friend's house, I asked for the recipe. I was shocked to find out that she actually made this soup in just 5 minutes in the blender using a jar of roasted peppers! The results are a rich tasty soup that is both high in protein and flavor."

Tina of Squirrel Head Manor shared a different version of Black Bean Tomato Soup. She said, "Every once in a while I make black bean soup and it's different each time.  Here's another version. Check out these bowls, I like them quite a bit. Funny, after looking for a deep and wide bowl at World Market and similar places, we found them at the local grocery store for a low price. Bargain! This is a quick to toss together lunch.  We were fortunate enough to eat this lunch on the patio and paired it with leftover gluten free pizza."

 
Thanks to Judee and Tina for joining in!

About Souper Sundays:

Souper Sundays (going since 2008) now has a format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches at any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here. 
If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...
 

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on your blog post that you link up to Souper Sundays in order to be included in the weekly round-up.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back to it on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (completely optional).

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter 

Have a happy, healthy week!