orange soup!

keeping on the topic of being healthy, i thought i'd share one of my very favorite healthy winter recipes - moroccan garbanzo-squash soup (a.k.a. orange soup, for obvious reasons)!  this recipe is originally from evan kleiman, host of KCRW's good food (sadly, her restaurant angeli caffe is closing today.  you can see my post on the restaurant here).  we are big fans of butternut squash in my house, so any recipe using this squash works for us! 

my mom and i have made this soup so many times that i barely even follow the directions or measurements in the recipe.  it may sound complicated, but this is actually an easy recipe, with a short list of ingredients.  i couldn't find this exact recipe anywhere online (i found some close ones, but not exact).

moroccan garbanzo-squash soup:

makes 10-12 servings

ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

2 onions, peeled & minced

2 lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeded & cut into chunks

2 15 oz cans of garbanzo beans (only drain one can!)

1-2 tablespoons moroccan spice - paprika, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne  (the amounts will vary depending on your tastes.  i follow the order above, with paprika being the most and cayenne the least.  no actual measurements for how much of each, but you can google it if you aren't confident winging it)

3 cups water, chicken or vegetable broth (this is not the most accurate measurement, you actually use enough broth to just barely cover the squash... you'll see)

1/4 cup tomato paste or 1 cup tomato sauce

coarse salt & pepper to taste

fresh cilantro leaves - minced

step 1: peel, seed & cut up the squash.  i used the larger of the two squashes plus the top of the smaller one. 

step 2: chop the onions.  i hate chopping onions!  this is not a lie - i wear my old swim goggles when i'm chopping onions so i don't get all teary eyed!  btw, these onions will be pureed later so if there are some bigger pieces don't worry! you just want everything to cook evenly!

step 3: add the olive oil and the onions to a large soup pot; cook until soft. 

step 4: add one of the cans of garbanzo beans WITH the liquid and the squash to the pot.

step 5: barely cover the squash with the water or broth.

step 6: bring the pot to a boil & add the spices and the tomato paste or sauce.  turn down the heat and let it simmer until the squash is soft and falls apart easily.

step 7: puree - you can use a food processor (easiest), a blender (not quite as easy), a food mill (requires some physical work), or a potato masher (the most work).  in the past we've used a blender, which works only you have to blend the soup in a few different batches.  this is the first year i've made it with the food processor - the easiest!

before

after

step 8: put the pureed soup back in the pot & add the remaining DRAINED garbanzo beans.  top with cilantro & enjoy!

 

this soup is great as leftovers!  i had it for lunch twice this week.  it also freezes well.  happy eating!