David has a few dishes he can make, but soup is not one of them. And yet soup is our go-to winter lunch. There was a time when he’d try to get me to pick up the canned stuff, but he stopped asking because he knows I won’t. I keep explaining that buying canned soup is like buying bottled dressing. It’s so easy to make—and so fresh and pure—why would you want to?
Today’s soup—Curried Cream of Tomato Soup with Chickpeas and Spinach—is an example of just how easy and nourishing a weekday soup can be. Every good soup starts with a sautéing onion. To it add curry powder, a can of tomatoes, a can of chickpeas, and a little bit of baking soda to neutralize the tomatoes’ acid, which will prevent the milk from curdling.
After just five minutes of simmering, add the milk. I like the evaporated varieties because they’re rich like cream without all the calories. Depending on your mood, you can use low-fat or regular. Add a little frozen spinach to the pot too and just look at the healthful meal you’ve made in just minutes. Why open a can of soup when something from scratch is this simple to pull off?
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium-large onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon curry powder or garam masala
- 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
- 1 can (15 to 16 ounces) chickpeas, drained
- Scant ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup evaporated milk, low-fat or regular
- 1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed (no need to squeeze out liquid)
- Salt and ground black pepper
- Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high. Add onion; sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in curry powder; cook until fragrant, less than a minute. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, and baking soda; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, to blend flavors, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in milk and spinach; reheat to a simmer, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and serve.
This is just the kind of soup I enjoy making on a winter afternoon as well. Though I must admit that as much as I enjoy preparing soup, I’ve yet to try my hand at tomato. And boy does this look so hearty! Might be our weekend lunch when we get hit with more snow on Saturday.
I love everything about this soup!
I could really use a big ol’ bowl of this to get me through these last few weeks of winter! YUM.
Ooh, I love tomato soup but I don’t think I’ve ever tried it with curry. What a delicious flavor combo, it’s sounds so good!
Thank you Pam. This looks like a great addition to my list of hearty lunch soups. I’ve very happily adopted your lunchtime habits, as outlined in your excellent book, “The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight and Eating Great.” Thank you for sharing your stories with us. You are an inspiration.
Totally agree on canned soups and bottled dressings.
yum! i can’t wait to try this. we might add kale instead of spinach as it has more body and character. thanks for the tip about the baking soda, too!
This would make a great Lenten dinner, especially accompanied by a crusty loaf of homemade bread.
I made this tonight and it turned out just lovely. Would love to have with some bread next time. Another great one from Pam!
I made this soup today at our insurance office. Everybody LOVES it!! So delish and easy to make. Thank you Pam for a fabulous recipe!!
Just so simple and fantastic, it makes me cry!! Totally burnt my tongue because I couldn’t stop tasting the finished product!