One-Pot Wonders
Roasted Chickpea Calder Verde
- Serves 4
Author Notes
Despite being my pickiest child, my six year old son Calder is my best sous chef. I love that when asked what he wants to do when he grows up, he says own a bookstore with a café. A child can dream! Anyway, a while back he asked me to help him make a soup combining two of his favorite things - roasted kale and roasted chickpeas. We roasted kale and spiced chickpeas on separate baking pans, then blended some of the chickpeas with the kale and stock. I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty the soup turned out, although it was a little thin. With a few tweaks, including adding a potato (which lead to the name, a riff on the classic Caldo Verde), I knew it could be better. This is the result. Note: Unless you have a complete aversion or allergy to rice milk, I hope you’ll try this with it. I’ve been adding it to my soups and find that it adds a slightly sweet creaminess without the bulk of dairy. —gingerroot
What You'll Need
Ingredients
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1
can of chickpeas, drained
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1
medium yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
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1/2 teaspoon
kosher salt
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1/2 teaspoon
whole cumin seed
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1/2 teaspoon
whole dill seed
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1/2 teaspoon
sumac
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1/2 teaspoon
smoked paprika
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2 tablespoons
extra virgin olive oil, divided plus more for roasting kale
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1
head curly kale (8-9 leaves), washed and thoroughly dried (do not remove stem)
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pinch kosher salt
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1
medium onion, diced
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2
garlic cloves, minced
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2 3/4 cups
chicken stock (or vegetable stock to make it vegetarian)
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2 cups
unsweetened organic rice milk
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Chopped Italian parsley
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Chopped (and rinsed) preserved lemon (optional)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange racks in the middle and bottom third of oven.
- Get out two large rimmed baking pans. Line one with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine well drained chickpeas with diced potato. Add salt, spices and 1 T extra virgin olive oil. Using a spatula, fold together to thoroughly combine. Spread seasoned chickpeas and potato in a single layer on lined baking sheet.
- Place curly kale leaves on the remaining baking sheet. Drizzle 1/2 T or so of extra virgin olive oil on to kale and add a pinch of salt. Massage leaves with hands until kale is coated with oil and salt. Evenly spread out leaves on pan, alternating the direction of each leaf.
- Place kale pan on the middle rack and chickpea/potato pan on the lower rack. Roast kale for about 10 minutes, turning pan once midway through. You want the leaves to be roasted, but still have a hint of green. They do not have to be completely crispy. When kale is finished, turn chickpea pan and continue to roast chickpeas and potato until chickpeas are slightly crispy and potatoes are tender (yield easily when poked with the tip of a knife) about 15-20 minutes more.
- While kale is cooling and chickpea/potato mixture is finishing roasting, heat remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until fragrant and beginning to be translucent, about 5 minutes. Lower heat, add liquids and continue to cook until chickpea/potato mixture is done. Scrape roasted chickpeas and roasted potato into pot. Stir to combine.
- Remove kale from stems by holding leaves stem side up, grasping on either side and pulling leaves down, away from the stem. Repeat with remaining leaves. Place leaves in a blender.
- Working in batches, carefully add soup mixture to blender and puree until smooth. Add pureed soup back to original pot and warm until heated through. Serve soup garnished with chopped parsley, and a sprinkle of sumac. I also enjoyed it with chopped preserved lemon. Enjoy!
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My most vivid childhood memories have to do with family and food. As a kid, I had the good fortune of having a mom who always encouraged trying new things, and two grandmothers who invited me into their kitchens at a young age. I enjoy cooking for the joy it brings me - sharing food with loved ones - and as a stress release. I turn to it equally during good times and bad. Now that I have two young children, I try to be conscientious about what we cook and eat. Right about the time I joined food52, I planted my first raised bed garden and joined a CSA; between the two I try to cook as sustainably and organically as I can. Although I'm usually cooking alone, my children are my favorite kitchen companions and I love cooking with them. I hope when they are grown they will look back fondly at our time spent in the kitchen, as they teach their loved ones about food-love.
Best of all, after years on the mainland for college and graduate school, I get to eat and cook and raise my children in my hometown of Honolulu, HI. When I'm not cooking, I am helping others grow their own organic food or teaching schoolchildren about art.
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