Cold Chickpea-Tahini Soup

By Mark Bittman

Cold Chickpea-Tahini Soup
Evan Sung for The New York Times; Food stylist: Suzanne Lenzer. Prop stylist: Kaitlyn DuRoss.
Total Time
15 minutes
Rating
4(702)
Comments
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Chickpeas have an irresistibly robust and nutty flavor, and a texture that can run from crunchy to tender. Dried chickpeas take longer to cook than other beans (two hours is a likely cooking time); use enough water, and the process is stress-free.

One major benefit to cooking chickpeas yourself — aside from the superior flavor and texture — is that the water you cook them in becomes particularly rich and flavorful by the time they’re done. Save it for soups like the cold one here, which is a refreshing riff on hummus.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings.
  • 1cup chopped tomatoes
  • 1cup chopped cucumber
  • ¼cup chopped red onion
  • ¼cup chopped pitted olives
  • ¼cup chopped fresh parsley
  • Salt and freshly groundblack pepper
  • 3cups cooked or canned chickpeas
  • 3tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1tablespoon olive oil, plus morefor drizzling
  • ¼teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1small garlic clove
  • 2 to 3tablespoons tahini
  • ½cup crumbled feta
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

215 calories; 11 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 9 grams protein; 377 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine the chopped tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, olives, parsley and a sprinkle of salt and pepper in a small bowl; set aside.

  2. Step 2

    In a blender, combine the chickpeas, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, cumin, garlic, tahini and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Gradually add water (start with 1 cup) and blend until smooth and thin enough to pour. Taste and adjust seasoning. Pour into bowls, and top with the chopped-vegetable mixture, some crumbled feta, a sprinkle of cumin (if you like) and a generous drizzle of olive oil.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
702 user ratings
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Comments

Nancy

Ilene's description was spot on--hummus in a bowl. I used 1 tsp cumin, 3 large cloves of garlic, chopped, and about twice the lemon juice (used 2 whole lemons). Two 14 ounce cans of chickpeas is a small handful more than 3 cups. I put the left overs in the soup for a little extra texture. I used 1-3/4 cup of water--this yielded 4 cups of broth. I used about the amount of cucumber, red onion and tomatoes as called for, as one serving of vegetables. Doing so makes a more substantial chunky soup.

mdurphy

So what would happen if liquid hummus meets gazpacho? Actually, it's pretty good. Add 1 1/2 cups each tomatoes & cucumbers to the puree. Use 2-3 cloves garlic, 4 T lemon juice, 1/2 to 1 t cumin and a little hot sauce. Thin with water or ice cubes, then adjust at the end with salt and 1 T white wine vinegar. This is still more Jerusalem than Barcelona, but it's more interesting than the straight hummus version.

mark t

Try a generous sprinkle of Sumac across the top. The red ocher color presents nicely and adds more complexity to the lemon flavor.

amanda from cleve

Not flavorful despite a lot of adjustments even on second day. Threw out the leftovers

deb

Use more lemon, garlic, cumin. Try sumac or zaatar as others suggested next time. Served w toasted pita and Greek salad, using all the extra ingredients from recipe…

Alexandra E.

Hummus soup! What a marvelous idea. Thanks to everyone's input, I increased the lemon, garlic, cumin ,tahini and water. I used two whole lemons and blended them into the soup and they added a great lemon flavor.

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