Potato, leek, and chickpea soup

TIME1 hour MAKES6 servings PORTION
0.5x 1x 2x 3x

A delicious potato and leek soup, made even better with some spice and the addition of chickpeas. The best part of this soup are the crispy spiced chickpeas and leek greens which are fried and used to top the soup.

Adapted from two Food52 recipes by Chetna Makan and Milk and Cardamom.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 tbsp salted butter
  • 60ml (1/4 cup) olive oil (divided)
  • 1 large shallot (roughly chopped)
  • 3 garlic cloves (roughly chopped)
  • 2 leeks (washed and thinly sliced, roots discarded)
  • 350g (about 3 medium) all-purpose potatoes (roughly chopped)
  • 750g canned chickpeas (drained, about 2 cans)
  • 1L stock
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tbsp cream (optional)
  • Salt

Topping

  • 120g (about 1/2 cup) canned chickpeas (drained)
  • Reserved green leak topss
  • 1/4 tsp hot smoked paprika or kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1/4 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/4 tsp ground cumin
  • Salt

Tadka (optional)

  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 4 curry leaves
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 pinch turmeric

STEPS

  1. Heat the butter and 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the shallot and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.

  2. Reserve a handful of the leeks’ green tops. Add the rest of the leeks to the pan and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until softened. Add in the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes, until they start to turn golden.

  3. Reserve 1/2 cup of the chickpeas. Add the rest to the pan and combine with the vegetables. Add the stock and 1 teaspoon of salt to the pan and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat for 40 minutes, until the potatoes are fall-apart tender.

Topping

  1. Toward the end of that 40 minutes, prepare the topping. Heat the remaining oil in a small saucepan or skillet over medium heat and add the reserved sliced leek tops and reserved chickpeas. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the chickpeas are lightly golden and the leeks are deep green. Remove from the heat and add the paprika, coriander, cumin, and a pinch of salt and mix well. Leave it in the pan to cool.

Tadka (optional)

  1. Add oil Into a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the mustard and cumin seeds. When they start to pop, stir in the curry leaves. Once the curry leaves stop sputtering, remove the pan from the heat and add cayenne and turmeric. Stir well.

Blend and serve

  1. Use an immersion blender to purée the soup. Add the pepper and cream and mix well. Divide the soup between the serving bowls and top each with some of the chickpea and leek mixture. Drizzle with tadka and serve immediately.

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