Vegetable Chickpea Soup. Vegan. Gluten Free.

Happy September! It is my favorite month of the year… well it may rival December but I’ll go with it for now. Both of our girls are back to school now. I get to focus more time in the kitchen and blogging – which also makes me happy. Plus all things pumpkin (yes, it’s coming) and soup. Now I realize it’s 90 outside but I’ve been craving a big bowl of vegetables and needed a quick dinner idea yesterday and viola. I expected my kids to complain about soup when it’s so hot outside but it was well-received and everyone loved all of the fresh veggies/herbs from the garden.
Ingredients:

Olive oil – to coat the bottom of the pan
One half of a large yellow onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 large carrots – I used rainbow, peeled and sliced
1 bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 zucchinis – I used one yellow and one green, ends removed and quartered
2 cups of fresh or frozen peas
1 – 32 oz. of low sodium vegetable broth
2 cups of water
1- 32 oz can of crushed tomatoes (I used San Marzano) or you can use fresh diced tomatoes
2 cans of chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
1 tablespoon dried Rosemary – use a bit less if fresh and chop up nicely
1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
Salt
Pepper

Optional: Serve with cooked gluten free rice pasta, quinoa or rice.

Please also note that you can add whatever vegetables you have on hand to this soup. Green beans, celery, potatoes etc.

Directions:

In your Dutch oven or large stock pot, over medium heat, add a few teaspoons of olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Once hot, add your onions, carrots and bell pepper and cook for about 4 minutes stirring often. Then add your garlic and keep stirring to prevent burning. From there add zucchini and cook for about 3 more minutes. Reduce heat to low, add your broth, water, tomatoes, chickpeas, seasonings and give that a good stir. Do not add the peas until your about to serve to preserve their nice bright green color. I added early because I was going to be playing taxi and they lost that brightness but they were still quite tasty. I covered and let simmer for about an hour. Stop and taste the broth and add additional salt or pepper as necessary. Then cover and keep the heat on low until you’re ready to serve.

I added Trader Joe’s brown rice pasta (cooked) with the soup to make it heartier. This soup is packed with protein and essential nutrients. Serve with gf/vegan crackers of your choice.