Tomato, Pumpkin and Chickpea Soup

Inspiration for my soups comes from many sources.Sometimes I see a recipe in a book that looks interesting or a soup from a restaurant will spark my interest. More often though it is the basic simplicity of a single ingredient that will inspire me to create a new soup. This week, this tomatoes. Nothing really special about them, but there is something really wonderful about a great tomato soup, and I decided to mix that up a bit by adding pumpkin and chickpeas. The core of the soup, though is its flavor (I used basil, rosemary, parsley, paprika, etc) that enhanced the tomatoes, and made it a rich and tasty soup with a new level of flavor thanks to the pumpkin. My husband didn’t care for it, but I loved the different flavors and the creaminess from the pumpkin. The soup is also gluten-free, vegan and low-fat – making it a healthy way to start off any meal. Enjoy!

Tomato, Pumpkin and Chickpea Soup
Ingredients:
approximately 3 cups of water
5 heirloom tomatoes, cut up
Use fresh herbs (if possible). (I used basil, paprika, sage, rosemary, parsley)
I canned pureed pumpkin
I can of chickpeas, drained
sprinkle of salt and pepper
drizzle of olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, cut up
4 cloves of garlic, minced

Directions:

Add a drizzle of olive oil to a large sauce pan. Cut the onions and garlic and let cook on a low heat. Cut up the tomatoes and add them to the pot and cover. Add in the water, spices and flavorings (basil, paprika, sage, rosemary, parsley) and let cook for 30 minutes, stirring periodically. Add in the puree of pumpkin, chickpeas and stir. Let cook for another 15 minutes. Blend the ingredients together and top with some whole chickpeas, enjoy!