Mediterranean Chickpea Soup #Recipe Peg Cochran/Margaret Loudon

 

This recipe is from "The Kitchen" but of course I had to modify it.  The recipe called for boneless thighs and I only had bone-in.  I removed the skin and added them to the pot whole.  Smoked paprika can be a bit spicy and hubby is spice-averse so I reduced the amount to half a teaspoon.  The soup still had that wonderfully smokey flavor that the paprika adds.  I imagine you could use sweet paprika for a slightly different taste.  I didn't have tomato paste (I never seem to have it when I need it and I keep forgetting to buy it) and the soup didn't lack for it.  The recipe didn't call for a carrot but I like the sweetness it brings so I added one large one. Finally, I didn't add the spinach since I didn't have any.

According to the recipe, frozen spinach is fine.  No need to defrost it--just add it to the pot and cook until heated.  Corn was also suggested as an addition.  We added some grated Parmesan cheese on top.  I think a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt would be a good addition as well.  The soup was delicious as is and I can't wait to have the leftovers for lunch!

1 large yellow onion

1 large yellow, red or orange bell pepper

4 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon smoked paprika (or to taste)

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 large, sliced carrot (optional) 

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 2 pounds total)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 32-ounce box low-sodium chicken broth

1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

5 cups baby spinach  

 

Combine onion, bell pepper and minced garlic in a bowl.  Set aside.

 

Combine spices—smoked paprika, cumin and salt in a bowl.

 

Pat boneless, skinless chicken thighs dry (or remove skin from bone-in thighs if using)

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion, pepper, and garlic, and cook until softened. 

 

Add the chicken, 1 box chicken broth, the chickpeas and optional carrot. Bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer until the chicken, carrot and chickpeas are tender, approximately 25 minutes. (If using whole thighs, it might take a bit longer.)

 

 

Add diced tomatoes and their juices and 2 tablespoons tomato paste and stir to combine.

 

Transfer the chicken to a clean cutting board and shred meat using two forks.  Return to pan. Simmer for five minutes.

Turn off heat and add spinach. Stir until the spinach is wilted.

 

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Mediterranean Chicken and Chickpea Soup

We are all trying to "make do" in order to avoid going to the grocery store or having to wait for groceries to be delivered.  This is a great pantry meal if you have some chicken on hand.  It calls for chicken thighs, but I think you could easily sub breasts if that's what you have.  It also calls for smoked paprika, which you might also not have in your spice cupboard.  I thought it added a wonderful flavor to the soup but I suspect you could make do with sweet paprika if that's what you have.  You could also sub kale or some other leafy green for the spinach or leave it out if you have to.

This was very filling and delicious and the two of us had dinner and several lunches from this.

1 yellow, red, or orange bell pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
salt to taste
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs  
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
5 cups baby spinach

Heat olive oil over medium heat and add onions, pepper and garlic.  Saute until vegetables become soft.  

Move vegetables to the side of the pot and add chicken.  Brown slightly.   

Add broth, spices, chickpeas, diced tomatoes and tomato paste.  Cover, lower heat and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked.

Remove chicken and shred.  Return to pot.  Add spinach and cook until spinach is wilted. 

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Mediterranean Pressed Cob Sandwich – Fun with Reference Materials

 Please welcome our guest Molly MacRae!

Mediterranean Pressed Cob Sandwich – Fun with Reference Materials

My son and I discovered a great sandwich that’s fun to make, especially for librarians – or for anyone who likes to press their food overnight under several volumes of an encyclopedia. And, really, who doesn’t?

When we found it, the recipe was called Mediterranean Layered Sandwich. Pfft. Any sandwich with more than one ingredient can be called “layered.” And this is not just a single-serving sandwich; this thing is large and strong and serves six people all by itself. It’s made with what the recipe calls a 9-inch cob loaf. That might have thrown us. Cob? Huh? But then we laughed – ha ha ha, we’re librarians! We could look it up! So we did and it turns out a cob is a round loaf of bread. Okay, that’s a fun thing to know, so why not put that in the recipe’s name, too? That makes it a point of conversation, almost exotic, and certainly more interesting than “layered.

So we renamed the sandwich, made it, and fell in love. The original the recipe, which you’ll find below, calls for pesto spread around the inside of your hollowed out cob. It’s delicious that way, but we’ve also made it spread with caramelized red onion (to which I added a bit of balsamic vinegar) and with kousa mabshoura (which is a fabulous spread made with zucchini like you’ve never had zucchini before.) You can find a recipe for kousa mabshoura (and other uses for it) in a post I did on Amy Alessio’s Vintage Cookbooks and Crafts blog. 

We also vary the layers. Grilled or roasted carrots are a nice addition. Portabello mushrooms would be wonderful. As for the ricotta? It was okay but didn’t add anything special. We used it the first time and haven’t bothered since. Sometime I’ll try another cheese. Gruyere, maybe, or sharp cheddar or a good goat cheese. Fontina! And maybe a layer of spinach? Roasted garlic? The possibilities are endless and mouth-watering to contemplate.

So then we come to the pressing. Fun! The cookbook says to use heavy food cans to slowly squash the cob overnight. We don’t have heavy cans in our cupboard or many cans at all. What we do have is a set of 1988 World Book Encyclopedias which I’ve been meaning to get rid of. But am I ever glad I didn’t! You can probably substitute another edition or maybe another encyclopedia set altogether, but we’ve found that three volumes of the World Book 1988 do the perfect pressing job.

My review of this recipe? VDS – Very Darn Satisfying because it involves reference tools doing what they do best – feeding our hunger for knowledge while feeding our hungry bodies with a truly delicious sandwich.

Mediterranean Pressed Cob Sandwich

1 9-inch round bread loaf (called a cob in Britain and Australia)

6 oz. Pesto

2 sweet potatoes (about 1 pound total) cut lengthwise into ¼-inch slices

1 small eggplant cut lengthwise into ½-inch slices

3 small zucchini cut lengthwise into ½-inch slices

2 red bell peppers  

7 oz. ricotta cheese

⅓ c. grated Parmesan cheese

⅓ c. olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Oregano

Thyme

Special equipment: bread knife, spoon, plastic wrap, 3 volumes of your favorite encyclopedia, 2 cookie sheets or 2 large plates

1.     Quarter the peppers, remove the ribs and seeds, and stem. Cook under broiler until skin is blisters and blackens. Cool in paper bag, then peel. Brush the eggplant, sweet potato, and zucchini with the olive oil and broil, grill until tender and browned.

2.     Cut the lid from the loaf of bread as though you were cutting the lid from a pumpkin. Using the spoon and your hands, scoop the soft bread from the inside of the loaf, leaving a ½-inch shell. Save the removed bread for another use. Bread pudding sounds good. Mmm, with chocolate chips. Brush the inside and the lid with the pesto. Layer in the zucchini and peppers, sprinkle with salt, pepper, oregano and thyme, then spread with the ricotta and Parmesan. Layer in the sweet potato and the eggplant and sprinkle with more of the seasonings as desired. Replace the lid.

3.     Cover the loaf with plastic wrap and place on a plate or cookie sheet. Put another plate or cookie sheet on top of the loaf. Put this stack in refrigerator and balance three encyclopedia volumes on the top cookie sheet. Refrigerate overnight.

4.     Preheat oven to 500º F. Remove the plastic wrap, then bake for 10 minutes, or until crispy. Cut into wedges and serve.

Encyclopedias for pressing the sandwich!

Make space in the fridge for your sandwich to press overnight!

Molly MacRae is the author of the Haunted Yarn Shop mysteries from NAL/Obsidian (Penguin Group.) Last Wool and Testament, first in the series, is available in mass market, e-book, and audio book. Dyeing Wishes, second in the series, comes out in July 2013.

Molly blogs is a regular contributor on Killer Characters and Vintage Cookbooks and Crafts. You can connect with Molly on Facebook and Pinterest.