The weather has been pretty blustery lately. Naturally. I do live in northern New York, after all.
I also work from home. You know those days when you wake up and just feel incredibly motivated to be productive? Those days when once you’re “on a roll,” you’re not necessarily going to want to put a ton of time into your meals? This is the soup to eat on those days.
And if you work full-time, I know there are days where you want to be able to come in out of the cold to an already-prepared, piping hot meal. This is the soup to eat on those days.
Chickpea and Carrot Crockpot Soup
Serves 6-8
1 small pumpkin (1 – 1.5 pounds)
5 large carrots (approximately 1 pound)
2 cups dried chickpeas
7 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 T dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried dill seed
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried rosemary
Peel the pumpkin and chop into 2″ cubes. Slice the carrots into 1/2″ thick rounds. Mix all ingredients in a crockpot or slow cooker, and cook on High for 7-9 hours.
Savvy Tip: If you don’t have 7 1/2 cups of stock on hand, replace up to 3 1/2 cups with water.
Before serving, use an immersion blender to puree about half of the soup. Alternatively, process half the soup in a blender and return to the crockpot. This step isn’t absolutely necessary, but will thicken up the soup and help the flavors meld.
One of the best things about this recipe is its flexibility. If I don’t have a pumpkin, I can just as easily use an acorn squash. No carrots? Leave ‘em out. Extra veggies around that need to be used up? Throw them in the crockpot along with everything else. And with a simple switch of the variety of beans and the spices, I can have a whole new soup…like this Mexican Black Bean Soup!
Mexican Black Bean Variation:
1 acorn squash (1 – 2 pounds)
2 c dark red kidney beans
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 T dried coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
2 c water
6 c chicken or vegetable broth
Crushed tortilla chips, for topping
Follow the same process as for the Chickpea & Carrot Soup, and top each bowl with crushed tortilla chips just before serving.
I’m loving the convenience of the crock pot to make a hot meal on cold winter nights. What are your favorite crockpot recipes (feel free to leave links)?
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