There are two kinds of days around here; the Great Lunch days, and the Not-As-Great Lunch days. The Not-as-Great-Lunch days are those when I find myself up to my eyeballs in pastries or recipe tests and I can’t find the green smoothie I’m sipping on to tide me over until I can clear some space to fry an egg and slap it on toast.
The Great Lunch days are those when I have a couple of neat little jars of flavorful leftovers, just waiting to be enjoyed at the right moment because I had the foresight to make a little extra dinner the night before. On those days, I find myself watching the clock in anticipation of lunch. And, I’m pretty proud to say that most days I’m watching the clock.
It’s not that often that I “orchestrate” a meal. For dinner guests, absolutely. But not necessarily for myself, and rarely on a weeknight. I am pretty good at nailing down a balanced meal, even on a whim (there’s always a few types of proteins, grains, and lots of fresh veggies on hand.) But through all of that, most of the way I cook has everything to do with keeping the leftover game strong. Like you, and even though I spend most of my days in the kitchen, I don’t necessarily have time to make every meal from scratch. That said, my favorite dinner isn’t the choreographed one; its the pantry-clean out, the kitchen-sink salad, the soup that can be whipped up with ingredients I always have on hand. Last week, this Spiced Chickpea Soup w/Quinoa + Tomato was that favorite dinner, that turned into a Great Lunch Day.
Now, full disclosure – there are two ways this can come together for you. One of the ways is that you already have cooked quinoa and canned chickpeas on hand (as I did,) which makes this a meal that comes together in as much time as you can pour a glass of wine. I almost always have canned tomatoes and chickpeas on hand; I choose a great organic kind and don’t mess around with soaking my own (though this is preferable if you have the time.) If you don’t have cooked quinoa, or you’re using dried chickpeas, the recipe takes a bit longer but is just as spectacular for a Great-Lunch later.
This soup – rich in vegetable proteins – has been a lifesaver in this busy season; a surprisingly impressive dinner served with crusty bread for friends, and a favorite winter-warmer to enjoy on the couch after a long day when we’d rather be making manhattans than big meals. Hope it weaves its way into your repertoire too!
A few notes on ingredients here:
Flavors are FUN, yes, but they also are the mechanisms by which our bodies nourish themselves. Flavors basically tell our bodies what the food is giving us – on a nutritional and energetic level. Our bodies then prepare enzymes to break those components down, assimilate them, and turn them into fuel for our vibrant lives. We can’t eat just one flavor and get all of the things we need, so learning to track the flavors in our foods helps us to be sure that we’re really getting all of the things we need in our meals. This particular recipe has all six flavors. The more flavors we can enjoy in any meal or food, the happier and more balanced our bodies will be. If you’re wanting to learn more about how the flavors we eat fuel our bodies – energetically and nutritively, check out this little blog post.
Turn everyday into a Good-Lunch Day.
Process onions and garlic in a food processor with a blade attachment until finely chopped.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add cumin, coriander, and allspice and cook, stirring often, until onions start to brown, about 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes and cook, stirring often, until mixture is jammy, about 5 minutes.
Stir in broth and bring to a boil. Add chickpeas, reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, 20 minutes. Add quinoa and simmer, partially covered, until quinoa is cooked, 10-15 minutes; season with salt and pepper.
Top your soup with yogurt and pistachios just before serving