Meatless Monday with Mindy #28 Curried Chickpea-n-Greens Soup

Welcome to the 28th installment of Meatless Monday with Mindy

Fall is here! I was sad to see summer go (although we had very little of true summer weather this season), but I am loving autumn and all it's rich colors and flavors! Rich spices, hearty soups, (I love soups), and decadent desserts begin finding their way to our table once the season changes to cooler weather. Today's recipe is just a tease of the complex flavors that I  am drawn to once the leaves begin to turn colors.

I apologize for the lateness of this Meatless Monday post. I hope the recipe I tweaked and am sharing with you more than makes up for my tardiness.  I also hope you don't tire of soups because I LOVE soups! (have I said that before?) 

If you are unfamiliar with, or tend to shy away from curry or coconut milk, let me ask you to go out on a limb and try this recipe. I consider myself pretty open to trying new tastes and foods, but even I typically shy away from coconut as it's not one of my favorites, but, I was pleasantly surprised at the wonderful flavor of this soup!

Go ahead and try this...Trust me, you'll make it more than once.

Curried Chickpeas-n-Greens Soup

adapted from The Happy Herbivore

This recipe generously serves 2

 1 tsp mild curry powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground turmeric 

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 large onion, chopped

2 cups loosely packed spinach

4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 medium-large tomato, chopped

15 oz can lite coconut milk

2 medium carrots, sliced

Mise en Place

Chop all your vegetables. I didn't have a large tomato, so used our small early fall cherry tomatoes to equal what I figured equated about one large tomato.

Measuring out all your ingredients ahead of time really does make this go fast.

Line a pot with broth. Once the liquid begins to steam, add the onion and the spices (curry, cinnamon, turmeric, chili powder, and nutmeg), and stir. Cook for about 1-2 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.

Add spinach, and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 1-2 minutes.

Stir in the chickpeas, tomato, broth and coconut milk.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 30 minutes.

If you've never used coconut milk before, do not be alarmed by the chunkiness of the milk. Depending on the brand and age of the milk itself, a thicker, more paste-like consistency floats to the top of the can. This will blend in when stirred and heated.

After the 30 minutes, add the chopped carrots and continue to cook on medium-low until the carrots are firm, but tender.

Once the carrots are done, dish this lovely soup up and enjoy it with a slice of savory bread and dig in!

I'll be sharing my recipe over at The Recipe Renovator for the Meatless Monday blog hop. Check it out for more inspiring recipes!