Spring Fling

My husband and I both woke up (sick) on the wrong side of the bed yesterday. There was something in the air and it was only making my throat itch. We sadly canceled fun dinner plans with friends for a movie-night in on the couch. To make some sort of fun out of being sick, I decided to make a cozy dish of homemade springtime soup. I came across another fab recipe from Heidi Swanson at 101 Cookbooks and decided to take a go at it. I added chickpeas to my version and shredded some left-over roasted chicken on top of his serving. Served with a butter lettuce and watercress salad with creamy avocado chunks and toasted pine nuts and a few slices of toasted bread, mmmm good soup for the soul.

Spring Fling (Feel Good) Soup

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup brown basmati rice, rinsed
6 cups vegetable stock
1 cup sugar snap peas, trimmed and cut in half diagonally
8 spears of asparagus, trimmed and diagonally sliced into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup green peas, fresh or frozen
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, then add the shallots and garlic and saute for a few minutes until soft. Add the rice and stir for about a minute, then add the stock and bring to a boil. Cover, lower the heat and simmer until the rice is just tender, about 35 minutes.

In the meantime, saute the chickpeas in a separate pan with a pinch of salt and a dash of olive oil until slightly browned.

Add the sugar snap peas, asparagus, green peas and chickpeas and season with a few healthy pinches of salt and fresh ground pepper. Simmer for another 2 or 3 minutes and serve immediately so the vegetables remain crisp and bright. If desired, top with shredded chicken and thinly sliced parmessan.

Serves 4.

(James' version with shredded chicken)