Spinach, Pasta, and Chickpea Soup

Cool weather has finally arrived and as a result we have officially entered into "SOUP SEASON"!  I love soups so be prepared to be reading lots of recipes that involve my crock-pot, a stock pot, and/or a ladle.  This recipe was very light and was a good starter dish for my Quick Pastitsio that I served last night.  It reminded me of wedding soup but without the sausage.  The lemon was very subtle but added a nice smooth flavor to the soup. 

I forgot to take a picture before I served the soup so I had to take a picture of the picture.  Source:  Cooking Light Magazine, October 2011 (page 34)

Spinach, Pasta, and Chickpea Soup
Source:  Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine, October 2011
Serves:  4

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves
2 thinly sliced green onions
4 cups of chicken stock (low sodium) - or vegetable stock if vegetarian
2 cups of water
1/3 cup of carrots, diced into cubes
3/4 cup of orzo (sun dried tomato, spinach, original blend)
1 tablespoon of graded lemon zest
1 can (15 oz) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon of fresh oregano
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
salt and pepper
6 oz of fresh baby spinach
1/3 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

Chop onions and garlic.

Heat large saucepan over high heat.  Add olive oil.  Add garlic and onions and saute for 1 minute.  Add onions to crock pot. In pan, saute carrot cubes until slightly softened.  Remove oregano from the stem and roughly chop. 

Add onion mixture, broth, water, oregano, and orzo to the crock-pot. 

Add all remaining ingredients together in the crock pot and cook on high for 2 hours. When orzo and carrots are soft, soup is done.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Reduce temperature to warm until ready to serve.  Serve with Parmesan cheese on top. 

Ratings
Moe, 8 out of 10
Miss J, 8 out of 10

- Miss J