Rock To Wind A String Around

I was out for the afternoon on Tuesday.  An eye appointment followed by some holiday shopping with some groceries thrown in for good measure.  Knowing I’d be gone for awhile, I left the ingredients for chick pea curry on the counter and went on my way.  I came home several hours later, and cinnamon and onions were in the air.  Albert couldn’t find the recipe for the chickpea curry (um, cause it’s in my head) so he found a more than acceptable substitute, “Gypsy Soup” from the original Moosewood Cookbook.

I don’t use the original Moosewood very often–too much dairy and oil for my taste, but I keep the cookbook out of sentiment–it was my first vegetarian recipe collection, and I cut my veggie teeth on many a buttery recipe in there.  The soup Albert found though?  Hearty, but not full of fat–I’m glad I’ve dragged this book along on my last 11 or so moves–this recipe is a keeper.

Gypsy Soup

2-3 T olive oil

2 cups chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 cups chopped, peeled sweet potatoes (or winter squash)

1/2 cup chopped celery (omitted from this batch because it wasn’t in the fridge)

1 15 oz can chopped tomatoes (or 1 cup fresh)

3/4 cup chopped sweet peppers (thanks Trader Joe–we had a bag of frozen three color peppers to use)

2 cans of chickpeas

3 cups vegetable stock

2 tsp paprika (Albert used smoked paprika–highly recommended)

1 tsp turmeric (um, not in ours–we’re out)

1 tsp basil

1 tsp salt

dash of cinnamon

dash of cayenne (Albert used a bit more, maybe 2 dashes)

1 Tbs tamari

and 1  bay leaf (also excluded from our spice cabinet)

In a soup kettle, saute’ onions, garlic and sweet potatoes  (and celery if you include it) in the olive oil for five minutes.  Add seasonings, except the tamari, and the stock.    Simmer covered for 15 minutes.  Add the remaining vegetables and chickpeas for another 10 minutes or so, until everything is tender.

We ate this with a simple green salad dressed with grape tomatoes, carrots, almonds, and a honey-mustard dressing.  The second night we ate it, I made the same salad, added some oranges to it, and made some multi-grain dinner rolls to go along with it.  A perfect winter dinner on a perfect winter night.  Enjoy!