Soup Season Year Round!

I love the fall and winter for the heartier dishes that it calls for, but it can be soup season year round.   The easiest thing to make is soup. This particular soup does not have a name. Not all recipes that one creates impromptu in your kitchen has a name, ébut they eventually get one. So this one I will call Chicken and Chickpea Soup with Cilantro (Sopa de Galinha com Grão e Coentros.

If you are not big on time for prepping, soups, deliciously flavorful soups can be made out of almost nothing. Use what you have on hand.  Here is an example of what I mean.

Today has been crazy busy, but I usually work through the lunch period and that isn’t good. I sometimes think of using beans at the last minute.  So despite having the dried beans on hand, I keep a few varieties of good quality canned ones for moments like this.  I just so happened to have the leftover carcass of a small roasted chicken. It is in the refrigerator with the congealed drippings.

I put the carcass and drippings in a 5 quart soup pot, and follow by adding 2 quarts of water.  I bring it to a boil. Then, I reduce the heat to medium low and am simmering it, covered, for about 1 hour. Now I then remove the carcass to a dish to cool.

I strain the broth and bring it back to the boil. I then add 3-5 scallions, thinly sliced, that I had.  But, if I didn’t, I would have used 1/2 cup chopped onion. Now I toss in about 1 cup of small pasta (I happened to have mini-shells).  I then add the contents of a 1 pound 13 ounce can of chick peas and give it a stir. Next, I remove any meat from the carcass bones and add it in. I taste for salt and add  to taste some fresh ground pepper and about 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro.  Then I bring it back to the boil, reduced the heat to simmer and cook until the pasta is done.  That is it. Easy economical and delicious. Serves 6