Spinach & Kale Soup with Tahini Chickpeas

Wine: If you ever have the opportunity to get your hands on wine from Fanti, snap it up. You’ll usually find their Brunello, which is one of  the most divine wines to ever hit your lips, but it’s in that realm of “special occasion” not “everyday” [unless you’re a baller, in which case, let’s be friends]. Their Rosso di Montalcino is equally awesome. Also, if you ever find a bottle of Vin Santo, ship me a whole case. Thanks.

Lesson of the Day: Don’t second guess your lunch choices. I was going to get tacos. Carnitas tacos. I thought about them all morning. I went to the gym, and I thought about them. By the time to was at the row of food carts by my office, I went with…a veggie mezza plate. I was disappointed the whole ordeal. The overall quality and presentation was underwhelming at best. It was as if an entire bottle of tzatziki sauce exploded in the to-go container. To add salt to the wound, I could have bought SEVEN tacos for my trouble. Lesson learned [until I do it again, and I will].

Confession: When I first wrote the title to this post, I wrote salad instead of soup. I’m losing my mind.  I guess it’s basically the same thing, just blended and warmed up. So similar.

I have a feeling that this wouldn’t be a universally loved soup, so I won’t even pretend. It’s green after all. It tastes green. It’s a huge bowl of health. There is chicken stock and a whole mess of chickpeas slathered in tahini in there, but you should probably have a mild affinity for spinach and kale if you’re going to like it like I did. The kale isn’t nearly as intense when cooked down and pureed, but you can still taste a little bit of it. I happen to like love my greens, but after the fourth bowl, even I was kind of tired of it. Roma ate the remaining chickpeas. They’re dog approved.

Inspiration: Green Kitchen Stories

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• dried chili flakes
• 500g frozen spinach
• 300g frozen kale
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 cups chicken broth
• salt and pepper
• 15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3 tablespoons tahini
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice [juice of a small lemon]
• 2-3 tablespoons chopped parsley

Preparation

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot on medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and chile flakes [start with a teaspoon, you can add more later]. Sauté for 5-7 minutes until soft. Add the spinach, kale, and nutmeg, continuing to stir. The kale and spinach should wilt almost immediately. Add the broth and a healthy pinch of salt and cracked pepper. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until everything is cooked through. Use a regular or immersion blender to puree as much of the soup as you like.

In a separate bowl, toss the chickpeas, remaining olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, and parsley. Use your hands to make sure everything is mixed thoroughly. Every chickpea should be dressed in a thick coating of the tahini mixture.

When serving, top each bowl of soup with a handful or two of the chickpeas. The soup is good hot or cold.