Gluten Free and Vegan Sprouted Chickpea and Sweet Potato Curry Soup (#Meatless Monday)

Vegan and free of gluten, nuts, and soy

What happens when you end up with an accidental overload of sprouted chickpeas, a bunch of sweet potatoes from the farmers market, and a few pinches of warming spices like turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, and curry?

A cheap, easy, comforting, fibre-packed, pot of soup! And one that happens to be naturally gluten free and vegan!


It's been a loooong, cold winter for most of us. Today, at 6 degrees Celsius, was the warmest day in at least 3 months. Dear God, please, please let it warm up and stay warm. I'm so sick of bundling up every time I leave the apartment! Alas, my apartment is still cold and the produce available at the farmers market won't be changing just yet. Sweet potatoes and beets abound, and I'm still craving soup.

Last week I had soaked a couple of cups of chickpeas overnight and had intended to cook them and freeze them, as I described in my post on Freezing Big Batches of Beans. But I didn't get around to cooking them, and so I just decided to leave them for a day or two to sprout. And I ended up with a whole lotta sprouted chickpeas to play around with.

Also, as I mentioned in my recent recipe for Anti-Inflammatory Mung Bean and Turmeric Curry, I've been trying to eat a lot of turmeric to help reduce the swelling in my ankle, which I sprained way back in October. So I figured why not just throw it all together into a pot and see what happens?

 

Well, what happened was the most deliciously warming, comforting soup!  And did I mention cheap?

A bag of chickpeas costs less than $2, and you'll only need half of that. And with the rest of the ingredients it'll probably come to about $3 for 4 servings.

You don't have to sprout the chickpeas if you're making this in a rush. You can use pre-cooked or canned garbanzo beans / chickpeas for a quick fix.


Ingredients (makes 4 servings)

1 cup dried chickpeas (OR 1 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas or 1-15oz can chickpeas, drained)

2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 c chopped onion
1 clove garlic
2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 Tbsp dried rosemary
 1 medium-sized sweet potato, peeled and diced into 1" chunks
1 carrot, peeled and diced
3 c veggie stock or water
1/2 - 3/4 tsp salt


Directions:

1. To sprout chickpeas: Soak chickpeas overnight (8-10hrs) in water. Drain and let sit for at least 24 hours. Rinse and drain twice a day. I did this by leaving the chickpeas in a colander so I could easily rinse them.

2. In a medium-sized pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute 5-7 minutes, until softened and onion is translucent.

3. Add all ingredients up to the stock and saute 1 minute. Add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook 15 minutes, or until sweet potato and carrot are soft. Add 1 1/2 cup chickpeas and salt. At this point you can either transfer the contents into a blender, or use a hand blender, and blend until smooth.

I like my soups smooth because, well, see that handle on that big bowl?  I like to drink my soup like a mug of tea!


Looking for another way to use up any leftover sprouted chickpeas? Why not use them in my Gluten Free Beet Hummus recipe?


How do you like your chickpeas?

This post was shared on the following great link parties: Waste Not Want Not Wednesday, Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, Fat Tuesday, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Whole Food Fridays, The Plant Based Potluck Party, Fight Back Friday, Gluten Free Fridays,