Feeling Bookish

a banner week with comforting soup

Hey there Broiler Heads. This week has been a doozy. Between Halloween and turning in our manuscript for book 5 we are fucking wiped. To give ourselves a little breathing room and to let Michelle catch up on some much needed sleep we’re going to share a recipe from the upcoming book with y’all, our favorite group of cooks. This is some top secret shit so shhhhhhhhh, don’t tell our publisher.

This soup required minimal chopping, comes together in a fucking flash, and manages to be bright while remaining a deeply comforting. Whip some up this weekend and you’ll see exactly what we mean.

Chickpea and Tahini Soup with Orzo

Makes 4-6 servings

2 cups cooked orzo, similar small pasta, or rice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 large zucchini, cut into thin quarter moons, skin on

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground pepper

1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas or one 15 ounce can, drained and rinsed

8 cups vegetable broth

4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, about 2 lemons

2 tablespoons tahini

1 carrot, shredded on a box grater, about ½ cup ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

¼ cup chopped fresh dill

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Cook the orzo according to the package directions. They know their shit. Drain and set it aside.

In a large soup pot, warm up the olive oil over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook until you start to see it brown in some spots, about 8 minutes. Add the zucchini, garlic, and dried oregano and cook for another 2 minutes more, just until the zucchini starts to soften up. Throw in the salt, ground pepper, cooked chickpeas, and vegetable broth and scrap off any tasty bits of onion that might have stuck to the bottom of the pot. Let this come to a simmer, then turn the heat to low.

In a medium glass, start mixing the lemon juice and tahini together as best you can. Slowly whisk in a couple tablespoons of the warm soup broth at a time until all the tahini has all dissolved into the liquid in the glass. If you try to cut this step you’ll end up with a clump of tahini sitting at the bottom of your pot so don’t fucking rush this. Once the tahini is one with the liquid in the glass, stir it into the soup pot along with the shredded carrot, dill, and parsley. Now add 1 ½ cups of the cooked orzo to the pot and then turn off the heat. Stir and taste. Add more of whatever the fuck you think it needs.

Serve warm with a little extra orzo on top of each bowl with some of the chopped herbs and a crack of some fresh pepper

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Next week we’ll be back with some new fall recipes that will be great on your table whether you’re having guest for Thanksgiving or just like to eat well. Plus we’ll be debuting a new chat feature where we can all get together, ask cooking questions, and generally be awesome. So if you like what you’re seeing, spread the word.

Have a great weekend!

Michelle and Matt