Nothing like warm, comforting soup on a chilly winter night…or a winter night almost in the 60’s. I used to make a lemon chicken orzo soup (damndelicious.net) all of the time. I used to make it for my grandpa when he was in and out of the hospital and for my friends when they felt under the weather. It was always something I craved when the weather turned chilly.

I wanted to recreate this recipe with chickpeas instead of chicken and take my own spin on it. I created this today and made it for dinner and it was delicious as well! It’s light and lemony, but also savory and filling to make you feel all warm and cozy inside.

Lemon Rosemary Chickpea Noodle Soup Recipe

1 tbsp olive oil

3 carrots, thinly sliced

3 stalks of celery, thinly sliced

1/2 large yellow onion, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp dried thyme

4 c low sodium organic vegetable broth

2 c water

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 dried bay leaves

2 tsp dried or fresh rosemary

8 oz brown rice and quinoa fusilli (TJ’s), cooked 7 minutes

5 oz fresh baby spinach

juice of one lemon

salt and pepper to taste

vegan parmesan (optional)

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add celery, carrots, and celery. Cook for a few minutes and add the garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Cook vegetables until tender (about 5-7 minutes) and then add thyme.
2. Add vegetable broth, water, bay leaves, and bring soup to a boil. Once it’s boiling add chickpeas, spinach, and rosemary and turn down to a simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Cook pasta in a separate pot and make sure not to overcook, it becomes mushy and it will continue to cook when combined with the hot broth in your bowl.
4. Squeeze lemon juice into soup and add salt and pepper to taste.
5. When serving, add pasta to your bowl and then ladle soup in. I like to keep the pasta separate because it expands overnight and absorbs all of the soup.
6. Top with vegan parmesan (optional)