Sunday, May 18, 2008

Hummus Surprise Soup

Hummus Surprise SoupI saw this recipe over at Pinch My Salt and thought, "Hey, I like hummus!" followed by "I think I'll try this." And the rest is happy hummus history.

It's basically hummus in soup form and just like Pinch My Salt claims, the soup is so fast and easy it takes only about 15 minutes to have it on the table and ready to tempt your taste buds.

High in fiber, low in fat, high on taste and great with a side of homemade pita it got enthusiastic thumbs up from all six of us. How often do you hear that?

I've tweaked the recipe just a little bit so I'm linking to the original but publishing my own version. Mine makes 6-8 servings while the original is a much smaller batch, has a little more heat but less spice.

4 14-ounce cans of garbanzo beans (chick peas)
3 tablespoons light olive oil
3 tablespoons garlic
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 14-ounce can chicken broth
16 ounces cubed cooked lamb or chicken or beef (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
fresh lime for topping
fresh cilantro for garnish

Dump the cans of garbanzo beans, liquid and all, into a food processor or blender and puree until the beans are as smooth as possible. It won't be perfectly smooth and that's okay. Meanwhile, saute the minced garlic in the olive oil until it starts to brown then add the garbanzo bean puree to the pot. Add the ginger, coriander, cumin and broth--you can certainly use fresh grated ginger but when I threw this together I realized I was out of the fresh stuff and only had ground ginger. It worked. You can make the soup as thick or as thin as you want by adding more broth or water to the soup at this point. I also threw in some leftover rosemary and honey glazed leg of lamb that we'd had the night before which made the soup--well, more meaty. You could use another meat or just leave out the meat for a nice vegan dish.

Simmer the soup for ten minutes to let the spices sink in, more if you have the time. Season with the salt and pepper then top with freshly chopped cilantro and freshly squeezed lime juice for emphasis.

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Today's the last day to enter the Write-Away Contest--you have until midnight to get those entries in!

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Iron ManHas everyone seen Iron Man? Andrew and I saw a preview for it months ago and I laughed out loud it looked so stupid (sorry). Yes, stupid--kind of like a bad Transformers knockoff (not that the original was really worth duplicating).

But then I kept hearing how great it was and how it was getting five-star reviews and it tempted my curiosity a bit. I love a good movie and Friday night Andrew and I were feeling downright reckless so we caught a late showing. At 9 o'clock! We're living on the edge I tell you, what next--a midnight show?

I gotta say it lives up to the reviews--it was a solid A movie, loved every minute of it.

The casting was perfect, I especially loved the chemistry between Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts) and Robert Downey, Jr. (Tony Stark) who have a modern Bond-Moneypenny thing going.

There's enough laughs to keep it from taking itself too seriously, Pepper wears smashing black dresses in all her scenes and Robert Downey, Jr. seems rather in his element as the playboy looking for a cause. It was a tad predictable but the whole movie was just cool. No other word to describe. Next to Batman Begins it's probably my favorite superhero movie ever--though Spiderman II was pretty good. This was better. And cooler. Just cool. Did I mention it was cool? Worth every penny of $19.50.

Oh and don't forget to stay to the very end after the credits--you'll get the set up for the sequel.

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33 comments:

all over the map said...

Hummus is a favorite of mine and since we are heading into winter, soups are a must.
I did check out the link but it was for a site called Pinch My Salt, not Smitten Kitchen. Am I missing something?

Stephanie Wilson she/her @babysteph said...

Ok- this has to be one of your best recipe suggestions yet! I can not wait to try it. Total homemade hummus lover here. I love cilantro with mine, and lemon. Oh yum!

Steph

Amanda said...

I've just made some hummus with frozen chickpeas (now there's a great idea) and, as always made far too much for the two of us, so this recipe has come at just the right time. We're just coming out of winter, but being the UK it's nearly always cool enough for soup.

Dawn Penguin said...

"Worth every penny of $19.50" ... see, that sort of price is why we wait and BUY the DVD LOL!

and thanks for the recipe, it looks yummy :)

Michaele Sommerville said...

Husband took me to see Iron Man last night and we LOVED it too! Yep, Pepper's dresses were terrific (though I didn't like the blue evening gown!), but did you see her heels? I'm thinking she's the real action hero, running in those things!

Ice Cream said...

I had to choose between seeing this or getting salmon stuffed with shrimp, crab, and brie cheese. It was a hard choice, but I realized the salmon would never come to dvd. But I can't wait to see this.

Kayris said...

I luuuurrrvvvveee Christian Bale...so Batman Begins is at the top of my list too.

detroit dog said...

We saw the movie, too. I loved it! We always stay for the credits, so we saw the last scene. I thought it was really great fun. Downey has such an edge of humor and such great deadpan. He really is one of the best actors out there. Jeff Bridges was excellent. That last scene before the credits was great.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I laughed too when I first saw the preview. But then rotten tomatoes had it rated at 94% and I thought I had to give it a go. So we did and I'm glad. I really enjoyed it.

Oh and Batman Begins is my all time favorite super hero movie/Christian Bale movie. I can't wait for The Dark Knight to come out!

luckyzmom said...

I love garbanzos and Robert Downey Jr. Thanks for posting a double feature for me!

SimplyAmusingDesigns.com said...

My husband went to see it with a group of his friends and he's been wanting me to take our oldest daughter and go see it. Now I have TWO people telling me it's worth $19.50, I guess I'll end up caving and going to the theatre. :)

And that soup looks positively delish. Thanks for the recipe!

Booni3 said...

Your REcipe looks great. granted i've never had hummus i'll have to try it to know if i'll like it or not. :)
VISIT MY BLOG when you can

Booni3
KOI NO MAHOU

Anonymous said...

Your version sounds wonderful! I change it up every time I make it, too! Haven't tried adding chicken but sounds like a great way to turn it into a heartier meal!

miriama said...

We had free movie passes so my husband, myself and my 13-year-old daughter went to the 10:40 showing(yes, PM) and we had the best time! Great movie and since we waited until it had been out a while PLUS went to the LATE LATE show it was fairly empty. Great movie and a great time!

Anonymous said...

The soup recipe sounds delicious... If only I could get my son (17 months ) to eat soup as opposed to picking up the bowl and pouring it... (Any suggestions?)

Phyllis Sommer said...

mmm....hummus. sounds great. can't wait to try it out! i thoroughly enjoyed iron man too...

Gina said...

Wohoooo, can hardly for tomorrow...we are going to watch this movie!

Anonymous said...

Yes! Saw IRONMAN. Ironically, I saw it the day after I watched a DVD of Becoming Jane. Seeing them side-by-side like that provided an interesting angle on chick flicks vs. guy movies and I wrote my Saturday post with the title, If I Am 'Becoming Jane' then is He 'Ironman'?. Many interesting discoveries in the viewing and the writing about womanhood, manhood and the marriage of the two.

I agree about the humor and that it was worth the money to see on the big screen. Paul was going to see it with the guys, but I'm glad I went.

Unknown said...

I am a serious hummus lover and if it wasn't going to be almost 90 degrees today, I would make this soup! Definitely bookmarked for cooler temps.

Anonymous said...

see, my reaction to your liking iron man is 'are you sure?'
i totally thought the previews were stupid - and robert downey jr. as a superhero? not sure i can buy that.

but i think now we have to see it.

Tammy said...

Yummy, that soup sounds so good! I'll be giving this a try soo!

Julie Morgan said...

Great soup. I love butternut squash & carrot soup, but I must make this one. Thanks for the recipe!

Anonymous said...

My husband and I saw it two weekends ago and loved it too!

Unfortunately, we didn't stay for the credits because it was really late and my poor mom was babysitting. Usually, we stay just in case there is a surprise.

Susan (5 Minutes For Mom) said...

I'm so glad you told me that Iron Man isn't bad... I think I'll go with my husband... he has had to survive so many chick flicks, I bet he'd really appreciate it.

Doug Cloud said...

Well, that does it, now I'll have to see it. But I'll wait for the DVD, which will be around the same price :)

John Painz said...

Iron Man was really awesome. Besides the original 1978 Superman movie, my favorite super hero movie so far. Whew! Glad you enjoyed it! - J

Anonymous said...

Not to quibble, but even if you don't add the meat, this dish wouldn't be considered vegan, nor vegetarian for that matter, because it's made with chicken broth.

Anonymous said...

P.S. That aside, I'm totally going to make this with vegetable broth.

Marilyn@A Mixed Bouquet said...

That soup sounds delicious! I think I'll try it. Thanks!

Unknown said...

This looked and sounded so good, I went out yesterday to get all that I needed and made it for my family tonight for dinner. I have to say this was so good! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe with us!!

Michelle said...

I can't wait to try this recipe..linking it on my recipe box.This sounds just lovely..thank you...

Team Laws said...

We do hummus.

Please participate:

I am doing a project in response to Pres HB Eyring's talk in Oct 07 General Conf. I invite you to participate!
(instructions "a participate link")
http://comingtochrist.blogspot.com/
Thanks
PD Laws
Pensacola, FL

Tammy said...

I made this tonight, and it was so, so good! The only thing I did differently from your recipe was to leave out the salt. With the salt from the canned beans, and the chicken broth, I figured there was plenty of salt.

I made it vegetarian, served with the cilantro and lime juice. Mmmmm, can't leave either of those out! And I served it with pita bread on the side. YUMMY! Thanks for the great recipe!