Butternut and Chick Pea Soup With Bulgur Wheat
by Nigella. Featured in SIMPLY NIGELLAIntroduction
This is a comforting, deeply flavoured meal of a soup. I love an Italian minestrone, and I wanted to make a soup that drew on that, but within a different flavour range. So here the sweetness of onion and butternut is countered by the aromatic sourness of preserved lemons — if you don’t have them, you could add some finely grated zest of a regular lemon after cooking the onion, and add a spritz of juice along with the stock — and, in place of pasta, I add bulgur wheat.
Like many soups it thickens on standing, in which case you can you can either add more liquid, or just eat it as a stew. Either way, it is fragrant and filling, and is in reassuringly regular rotation in my house.
For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.
This is a comforting, deeply flavoured meal of a soup. I love an Italian minestrone, and I wanted to make a soup that drew on that, but within a different flavour range. So here the sweetness of onion and butternut is countered by the aromatic sourness of preserved lemons — if you don’t have them, you could add some finely grated zest of a regular lemon after cooking the onion, and add a spritz of juice along with the stock — and, in place of pasta, I add bulgur wheat.
Like many soups it thickens on standing, in which case you can you can either add more liquid, or just eat it as a stew. Either way, it is fragrant and filling, and is in reassuringly regular rotation in my house.
For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.
Ingredients
Serves: 6
- 2 x 15ml tablespoons regular olive oil
- 1 red onion (peeled and chopped)
- Maldon sea salt flakes (to taste)
- 1 butternut squash (peeled, de-seeded and chopped into 2cm / ¾in cubes)
- 1 clove garlic (peeled and finely grated or minced)
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
- 2 - 3 (total weight approx. 75g / 2½ oz) preserved lemons (finely chopped)
- 250 grams home-cooked chickpeas or drained weight from a jar or can
- 1½ litres mild vegetable stock
- 100 grams bulgur wheat
- chopped fresh coriander to serve (optional)
- 2 tablespoons regular olive oil
- 1 red onion (peeled and chopped)
- kosher salt (to taste)
- 1 butternut squash (peeled, de-seeded and chopped into 2cm / ¾in cubes)
- 1 clove garlic (peeled and finely grated or minced)
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
- 2 - 3 (total weight approx. 75g / 2½ oz) preserved lemons (finely chopped)
- 1½ cups home-cooked garbanzo beans or drained weight from a jar or can
- 6 cups mild vegetable broth
- ⅔ cup bulgur wheat
- chopped cilantro to serve (optional)
Method
- Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based saucepan that comes with a lid, and sauté the chopped onion and sprinkle with a little salt for about 3 minutes until softened.
- Add the chopped butternut squash, the garlic and the cumin and coriander seeds and stir around, letting everything cook for about 10 minutes.
- Tip in the chopped preserved lemons and the drained chickpeas, then pour in the vegetable stock and partially cover with the lid to keep the liquid from evaporating too much. Simmer for about 20 minutes, by which time the butternut should be just cooked.
- Add the bulgur wheat, then re-cover the pan and cook gently for another 10 minutes, by which time the vegetables should be tender and the bulgur wheat soft but still nutty. Sprinkle with chopped coriander on serving, if so desired.
- Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based saucepan that comes with a lid, and sauté the chopped onion and sprinkle with a little salt for about 3 minutes until softened.
- Add the chopped butternut squash, the garlic and the cumin and coriander seeds and stir around, letting everything cook for about 10 minutes.
- Tip in the chopped preserved lemons and the drained garbanzo beans, then pour in the vegetable broth and partially cover with the lid to keep the liquid from evaporating too much. Simmer for about 20 minutes, by which time the butternut should be just cooked.
- Add the bulgur wheat, then re-cover the pan and cook gently for another 10 minutes, by which time the vegetables should be tender and the bulgur wheat soft but still nutty. Sprinkle with chopped coriander on serving, if so desired.
Additional Information
STORE NOTE:
Cool leftovers, then cover and refrigerate within 2 hours of making. Will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, pour the soup into a saucepan, adding extra water or stock if needed, then heat gently, stirring occasionally, until piping hot.
FREEZE NOTE:
Cooled soup can be frozen, in an airtight container, for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat as Store Note.
STORE NOTE:
Cool leftovers, then cover and refrigerate within 2 hours of making. Will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, pour the soup into a saucepan, adding extra water or stock if needed, then heat gently, stirring occasionally, until piping hot.
FREEZE NOTE:
Cooled soup can be frozen, in an airtight container, for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat as Store Note.
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What 2 Others have said
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Posted by LesRosiers on 21st October 2022
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Posted by Gavster99 on 10th May 2022
Show more commentsDelicious, living in SW France I am wonderfully and ever grateful to be inundated by my farming neighbour, with butternut. I had everything in stock except the preserved lemons (will use next time). I went ahead and used the zest, plus juice. I also added turmeric, thank you Nigella , as satisfying as chicken soup.
This is such a wonderful dish - simple yet sophisticated and a real crowd pleaser .