Happy St Patrick’s day…
Green color is what comes to my mind while thinking of St patrick’s day, in fact to everyone’s mind. Do you know what’s the significance of green color? Well, here a few reasons. “Emerald Isle” is the poetic name for Ireland due to its green countryside; green color is used by Irish people to connect with fairies, angels and saints; green is the color of spring.
On this day, Irish people wear green ribbons, green clothes along with shamrock inspired designs, shamrock a three-leafed old white clover is a symbol of Ireland. As part of celebration, green colored dishes and drinks are also served.
While browsing through my Picasa album in search of a green dish that I must have made before, I bumped into this Kale chickpea soup. I had made this soup last month and had been wanting to post this recipe since then. Now is the perfect time and a perfect soup to blog about on St Patrick’s day, I couldn’t be any happier.. This soup has kale and chickpeas added to it, quite a healthy and filling soup.
Here are some dishes to make the celebration even more personal and special.
Soup: Spinach soup
Appetizer: Creamy shrimp stuffed Jalapeno
Main Course: Shepherd’s Pie
Dessert: Lemon Pie with pistachio Graham Cracker crust
Have fun folks!
Kale Chickpea soup
Ingredients:
- Kale, chopped- a bunch
- Chickpea, cooked- 1 can
- Onion, chopped- 1
- Garlic, minced- 1 1/2 tsp
- Chicken bouillon cube- 1/2 cube ( you could use chicken stock or vegetable stock)
- Water- 2 cups
- Ground pepper- 1/4 tsp or as needed
- Salt- if needed
- Olive oil- 1 tbsp
Instruction
- Place a non-stick pan over medium heat, add the chopped kale and cook till it wilts without adding water, keep aside.
- Heat a soup pot or large pan, add olive oil, onion and saute till tender.
- Add in minced garlic and saute for a couple of minutes.
- Add the drained, rinsed and cooked canned chickpea along with ground pepper.
- Put the chicken cube and add water, combine and let the cube dissolve in water.
- Cover and cook for a few minutes.
- Now, add sautéed kale to the chickpea, and cook for some more time.
- Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree it to a coarse paste.
- Pour the pureed mixture back to the pot, heat it for a few more minutes.
- Taste the soup, add ground pepper and salt if needed.
- If you want you could even add some cream to the soup.
- Serve in a soup bowl along with your favorite bread.
Tips:
- You could use spinach or any greens instead of Kale.
- Any other lentils or beans would work too.
- Kale, chopped- a bunch
- Chickpea, cooked- 1 can
- Onion, chopped- 1
- Garlic, minced- 1½ tsp
- Chicken bouillon cube- ½ cube ( you could use chicken stock or vegetable stock)
- Water- 2 cups
- Ground pepper- ¼ tsp or as needed
- Salt- if needed
- Olive oil- 1 tbsp
- Place a non-stick pan over medium heat, add the chopped kale and cook till it wilts without adding water, keep aside.
- Heat a soup pot or large pan, add olive oil, onion and saute till tender.
- Add in minced garlic and saute for a couple of minutes.
- Add the drained, rinsed and cooked canned chickpea along with ground pepper.
- Put the chicken cube and add water, combine and let the cube dissolve in water.
- Cover and cook for a few minutes.
- Now, add sautéed kale to the chickpea, and cook for some more time.
- Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree it to a coarse paste.
- Pour the pureed mixture back to the pot, heat it for a few more minutes.
- Taste the soup, add ground pepper and salt if needed.
- If you want you could even add some cream to the soup.
- Serve in a soup bowl along with your favorite bread.
Any other lentils or beans would work too.
