Super Fast Veggie Soup with Dumplings and Chick Peas

Last night, I made veggie soup with veggie dumplings and chick peas. The chick peas were a last minute addition to up the protein content and add a bit of heft to the meal.

Recently, I have made a lot of “creamy” soups (without cream) thanks to my immersion blender, and this soup was a nice change… I really enjoyed the chunkiness and the different textures…

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 small leeks, cleaned and chopped; it’s amazing how much dirt hides in leeks; wash them well! :-)
• 1 green garlic stalk – I got this in my CSA delivery. I don’t think I have ever used green garlic before. It tastes a bit milder than regular garlic, and I love it! I don’t like peeling garlic, so this is perfect!
• 5 carrots, diced
• 8 cups of liquid – I used half water and half organic veggie broth (out of a box)
• 1 can of organic chick peas, rinsed – I buy a brand with a very low sodium content; it’s shocking how high the sodium levels in some brands are…
• 12 vegetable dumplings
• Salt and pepper – optional

What I Did

I sautéed the onion, leeks, garlic stalk, and carrots in some olive oil for a few minutes. Then I added the liquid and the chick peas and simmered the soup for about 10 to 12 minutes. I actually prepared the soup up to this point early in the morning so that dinner would be super fast and easy as it’s a busy week at work, and we also worked out last night, leaving little time for making dinner. When it was time for dinner, I heated up the soup and boiled the dumplings in the simmering soup for about 3 minutes. Can’t get much faster than that!



Questions: Have you ever had green garlic stalks? If so, did you like them? Do you like garlic? What’s your favorite way to eat garlic? I love roasted garlic in mashed potatoes. And I also love garlic sautéed in olive oil with quickly sautéed fresh tomatoes, seasoned with a bit of red pepper flakes. It’s a perfect pasta sauce, and the kitchen smells so good afterward. Okay, I’m getting hungry… :-)

Be well,
Andrea