Chilled Chickpea and Tahini Soup

9 years ago

Since the temperature has been on the rise, I’ve been
focusing on using the oven and stovetop less often by preparing recipes which
keep the kitchen (and me) cool.

Because I was looking for a change from chilled madzoon(yogurt) soup, I decided to switch gears and make one with chickpeas and
tahini. This dish is basically a pourable version of hummus. It’s easy to prepare,
and with the vegetable topping, it’s like having soup and salad all in one
bowl!

Chilled
Chickpea and Tahini Soup

Yields about 4 to 4 ½ cups

Soup Ingredients:

2-15oz. cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 to 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

Dash of ground cumin

Dash of cayenne pepper, optional

½ tsp. Kosher salt

1 small garlic clove

2 to 3 tablespoons tahini

Vegetable Topping Ingredients:

½ cup roasted red pepper, diced (chopped tomatoes may be
substituted)

½ European cucumber, chopped –or- 2 Persian cucumbers

¼ cup chopped sweet – or – red onion

¼ cup chopped pitted Kalamata olives

2 Tbsp. chopped flat leaf parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Crumbled feta cheese- or – toasted pine nuts, optional

Directions:

Step #1

1. In a food
processor fitted with a metal “S” blade – or a blender, combine the chickpeas,
lemon juice, olive oil, cumin, cayenne pepper (if using), salt, garlic, and tahini.
Starting with 1 cup of water, gradually add to the food processor, blending
until smooth and pourable. (NOTE: I used about 1 ½ cups water in all.) Taste;
adjust seasoning, if necessary. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until ready
to serve.

2. While
the soup is chilling, prepare the vegetable topping: In a small bowl, combine
the roasted red peppers (or tomatoes), cucumber, onion, olives, parsley and salt and pepper to taste; cover and chill until ready to serve.

Vegetable Topping

3. Just before
serving, stir chickpea mixture. If it has thickened, add a little more water. Pour
into individual serving bowls; top each with a spoonful of vegetable mixture
and some crumbled Feta cheese or toasted pine nuts, if desired. Drizzle with
additional olive oil.