The Ultimate Vegan Sunchoke and Chickpea Soup For a Cozy Night In

All hail the sunchoke

Creamy, spicy and undeniably satisfying, curry-scented soup is the cozy warm-up you need this winter. Known to have naturally anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, curry adds its rich fragrance and vibrant colour to our sunchoke star. Here, the natural starchiness of the tuber is highlighted in a luscious purée alongside high protein chickpeas and aromatic coconut milk. When peeling your sunchokes for the soup, place them in a bowl of water with a touch of acid vinegar or lemon juice to prevent discolouration until you’re ready to cook. And don’t worry about removing every teeny tiny scrap of peel that gets stuck between every knob — if you use a powerful blender, even bits of peel will melt into the creamy soup.

We garnish our soup with our favourite fresh herbs, julienne veggies, homemade sunchoke chips and roasted chickpeas. (Since the recipe makes extra crispy chickpeas, feel free to throw them on salads or snack on them like nuts!)

10 comfort soups that will give you all the hygge feels.

How to pick the perfect sunchoke

Look for tubers without any soft spots, wrinkles or sprouts. While farmers are currently trying to breed out some of their knobby bits simply for ease of preparation, we say embrace the ugly and just get the freshest ones you can find. Store them wrapped in paper towel, sealed in a plastic bag in the vegetable drawer of your fridge for up to three weeks.

In terms of flavour, sunchokes are crisp and juicy like jicama when raw, but creamy and starchy like parsnips when cooked, with a delicate aroma like fresh artichoke hearts.

This salad will forever change how you feel about sunchokes.

photo credit: Donna Griffith

Servings	Prep Time	Cook Time
8servings	20minutes	40minutes

Servings	Prep Time
8servings	20minutes

Cook Time

40minutes

• Course Brunch, Dinner, Lunch
• Cuisine Soup

Ingredients

• Roasted chickpeas
• 1 can (540 mL) canned chickpeas (no salt) rinsed, drained, and dried well
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp curry powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt or more to taste
• Sunchoke chips
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp curry powder
• 2 sunchokes scrubbed and sliced thinly on a mandoline
• pinch each sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste
• Soup
• 1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger grated
• 3 tbsp red curry paste
• 4 cups sunchokes peeled and sliced
• 1 can (540 mL) canned chickpeas (no salt) rinsed, drained, and dried well
• 3 1/2 cups reduced sodium vegetable stock
• 1 can (40 mL) light coconut milk
• sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste
• Garnishes
• fresh cilantro
• carrots shredded
• bean sprouts
• Lime wedges
• Thai red chilis thinly sliced

Servings: servings

Units:MetricUS Imperial

Ingredients Roasted chickpeas 1 can (540 mL) canned chickpeas (no salt) rinsed, drained, and dried well 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1/4 tsp curry powder 1/4 tsp sea salt or more to taste Sunchoke chips 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1/4 tsp curry powder 2 sunchokes scrubbed and sliced thinly on a mandoline pinch each sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste Soup 1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1/2 onion chopped 2 cloves garlic minced 1 tbsp fresh ginger grated 3 tbsp red curry paste 4 cups sunchokes peeled and sliced 1 can (540 mL) canned chickpeas (no salt) rinsed, drained, and dried well 3 1/2 cups reduced sodium vegetable stock 1 can (40 mL) light coconut milk sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste Garnishes fresh cilantro carrots shredded bean sprouts Lime wedges Thai red chilis thinly sliced Servings: servings Units:MetricUS Imperial

Course Brunch, Dinner, Lunch Cuisine Soup

Instructions

Crispy chickpeas

1. Place the chickpeas on a clean kitchen towel. Top with another towel and gently rub them until the chickpeas start to pop out of their thin, translucent skins. The skins hold a lot of moisture, so getting rid of as many as you can will help keep these beans crispier longer. (Don’t worry about getting each and every one, just remove any that easily pop off.)
2. Transfer the dried chickpeas to a large baking sheet. Toss with a tablespoon of olive oil and ¼ teaspoon of sea salt and curry powder. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy, stirring and tossing them at least once during the cooking process.
3. Turn the oven off, and allow them to sit in the oven (with the oven door closed) as the oven cools down for at least an hour until the pan is no longer hot.

Sunchoke chips

1. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add in the curry powder and sunchoke slices. Pan-fry until golden brown on both sides, about 30 seconds to a minute. Drain on a few sheets of paper towel and set aside.

Soup

1. Preheat a large pot over medium-high heat and add in the olive oil. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger and curry paste and stir until the onion is coated in the paste. Cook for about 30 seconds.
2. Add in the sunchokes and sauté until they are coated in the mixture, then add in the chickpeas and vegetable stock. Cover and simmer on medium heat for about 20 to 25 minutes until the sunchokes are very soft.
3. Add the coconut milk and using a hand blender, purée until very smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Keep warm until ready to eat.
4. Divide the soup into eight bowls and garnish with the chickpeas, sunchoke chips, bean sprouts, cilantro, chilis, lime and carrots.

Recipe Notes

Nutrients per serving: 592 calories, 24 g protein, 17 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 89 g carbohydrates, 21 g fibre, 247 mg sodium

WP Ultimate Recipe