Recipe of the Week: Chickpea Noodle Soup & Rustic Country Bread

Ahh, it's that time of the year when I love making big pots of warm soup and homemade, rustic breads. I've done a few of them recently, so I thought I'd share one of them: Chickpea Noodle Soup and Rustic Country Bread. Back in my meat-eating days I loved the homemade chicken noodle soup and rye bread my grandma would make. The rye bread would always be fresh-baked and butter would just melt into the warm deliciousness of it. Now that I follow a vegan diet, I have no desire to eat boring or forego all the old favorites, so I've learned to "veganize" them over the years. 

I made the bread - because I was out of yeast - using this recipe. It was delicious and a good complement to the soup, fresh from the oven. Here's how I made the soup.

Chickpea Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves roasted garlic, mashed*

1 tablespoon coconut oil**

8 cups vegetable stock*** 

1 small fistfull of spaghetti noodles****

1 can garbanzo beans/chickpeas

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon each salt, pepper, paprika

1/2 teaspoon cayenne*****

1 teaspoon turmeric

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil over medium to medium-high heat in a dutch oven (or any large, deep pan good for making a batch of soup).

2. Add the carrots, onion, and garlic, and sautee until softened, about 5-7 minutes.

3. Add the seasonings and sautee for another minute.

4. Add the vegetable stock, chickpeas, and noodles. Bring to boil, and turn down to simmer.

5. Simmer until the noodles are tender, then remove from heat.

6. Serve with bread. Enjoy!

Notes:

*You can use regular garlic here, chopped small. You can even use granulated garlic if you want. If so, use a teaspoon of it. I roast my own garlic, and it really imparts a depth of flavor that makes this soup stand out. It's easy to roast, so if you want to, follow this recipe.

**Olive oil or canola oil works fine as well. Any oil with a high heat-point will work.

***I use Better than Bouillion Vegetable stock. It's the best tasting stock, hands down, but your preference is fine.

****I break the spaghetti noodles down into equal fourths. It should equal around 2 cups after broken down, but it's not exact. Add as much or as little as you want.

*****You can add less cayenne, or omit it altogether. I like a little heat! You could add red pepper flake too, and it would be tasty.

Last, I get my soup going while the oven is warming up, then make and bake the bread. They're usually done close to the same time and are nice and warm on a cold day/evening.

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