Chorizo, Chickpea & Sweet Potato Soup

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I love dishes that are a bit surprising. Foods that are sweet, stuff smoky and spicy all at the same time. Ones that have texture and flavor and smell wonderful. This soup is all of those things. The potatoes make it creamy, the chorizo adds a smoky undertone and chewy niblets, and the chickpeas anchor the dish and give it a nice heft.

It’s an easy soup. One of those things that come together fairly quickly, freezes well and you can eat all week long. A soup that makes bringing your lunch to work actually exciting and keeps you warm when it’s too chilly outside.

[print_this text=’Print Recipe’]Chorizo, Chickpea & Sweet Potato Soup

1 tbsp. olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 oz. Spanish chorizo, casing removed and diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 15 oz. cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly diced
4 cups chicken stock
5 cloves roasted garlic (or 3 cloves raw garlic), smashed
1 bunch Lacinato (or Black) Kale, chopped (about 3 cups)
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Set a large pot over medium heat. Once it’s hot, heat the olive oil and add the chorizo. Saute for a couple of minutes until the fat just begins to render. Add the onions and cook for an additional 5 – 6 minutes, until the onions begin to turn translucent.

Add the chickpeas and saute for about 8 – 10 minutes, or until the chickpeas start to toast and slightly stick to the bottom of the pan. Add the sweet potatoes, garlic, cayenne pepper and stock then reduce to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, pulse the soup to break up the larger potato pieces. If you don’t have one, you can also use a potato mashed or potato ricer to mash the potato pieces into the broth.

Add the kale and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls and top with a drizzle of olive oil.

Makes 6 servings. [/print_this]