This is one of my favorite soup recipes – it’s light but filling, vegetarian, and made with a unique combination of spices that fill the air with warmth. Cinnamon and cayenne give it a spicy heat, and my favorite part—the raisins—turn into plump little grapes bursting with an unexpected sweetness.
Oh yeah, it’s SO simple to make and healthy too!
Moroccan soup with quinoa + chickpeas, adapted from Women’s Health
Serves 4 or 5
- 3 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
- 1 can (14.5 oz) no salt- added diced tomatoes, with juice
- 1 cup zucchini, sliced into half circles
- 1/2 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 4 artichoke hearts, cut in half (frozen or packed in water and drained) *I left these out
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced (including green tops)
- 1/4 t cinnamon
- 1/4 t cayenne
- 1/2 t basil
- 1/2 t oregano
Bring stock plus 1 cup water to a rolling boil. Reduce heat, add remaining ingredients, and simmer uncovered about 10-15 minutes, or until quinoa is just tender (don’t overcook as it will expand as the soup sits). Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.
As with many soups, it will thicken up over time, and I find it to be especially flavorful after sitting overnight.
Enjoy! -mich
This post is linked to My Meatless Mondays,
blissful bites 
This looks wonderful! I’m just learning about quinoa… and how much I really love it! Thanks for linking this treat up to Friday Potluck! :)
Yum! This looks delicious! Thanks for sharing it at Gluten-Free Wednesdays.
This soup is really good. Saw it in a magazine and had to make it, but I did make some substitutions. The original recipe called for couscous, but i used quinoa as well. Great sub there. Also added some halved yellow tomatoes I had and used home-canned tomato juice; left out the artichoke hearts only because I didn’t have any on hand. They would still be good, though, and will add them next time for certain.
However, it is easy to overdo it on the cinnamon, so be careful. For a little fun, use just a touch more cayenne. It compliments the cinnamon and really puts a nice identity on the soup. I’ll add a few more raisins next time, too. They got lost at the bottom of the pan and I had to bring them up to find them; same with the chickpeas.
Three soupmug-fuls later… :^)
This one is for the book, though. It is that good.