Beany Noodley Soups

This is an expansion on the chickpea noodle soup I learned about from 101 Cookbooks. It was so good and basic, I realized, beans are good, nooldes are good and broth is good, so what's stopping me from putting it altogether? Usually bean soups have thick texture, more like hot pureed bean dip with a little broth mixed in than brothy soup. I like bean soups, but they don't fit the one-pot weekday meal I'm generally looking for. The texture is so thick and the taste so strict and beany, it's hard to eat a big bowl at once. When made with just beans, they're better as first-courses or a quick cup for a snack (which isn't a bad idea when it comes to snacks, beans are filling and healthy). But add some more broth and noodles and suddenly you have real one-pot, rib sticking comfort food! the chickpea noodle soup blew my doors, and the simplicity is a winner for the most harried of week-nights. I made a few variations of the soup with different beans and minor changes in flavors - all with things you will typically have in your pantry. The beany noodle soups are now a staple in our house. I hope you enjoy!

If you like the soup thicker with beans than noodles, add two cans beans. The best part about these soups is that they are so easy to customize; Two cans of beans or one, a whole lemon or lime or a half, spicy or mild, it's all managed by starting with less and adding more later if you want.

Base Ingredients - for two, double for four
2 cups chicken broth (Swanson's organic is my favorite bang for the buck)
up to 1 cup water for thinning
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup small egg noodles or spelt noodles

Chickpea Soup
1 14 oz can chickpeas, drained, rinsed
1/4 cup tahini
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 - 1 T paprika
1/4 t or to taste cayenne
1 T Olive oil
1 t salt
fresh ground pepper to taste (optional)

Heat pot, pour 1/2 T olive oil, saute garlic 30 sec-1 min. Add broth, lemon, tahini and chickpeas, salt and stir. Bring to a boil. Smash chickpeas with a potato masher. This step is optional, but it allows for some of the chick peas to stick to the noodles, better mixing the flavors. Add noodles, paprika and cayenne. Drizzle with olive oil and pepper if using before serving. Repeat, substituting different beans and ingredients.

Pinto Beans
1 14 oz can pinto beans
1/4 - 1/2 cup enchilada sauce
Juice of 1/2 - 1 lime
1 t salt
1/2 T chili powder
1 t cumin
cayenne to taste
cojita cheese or sour cream in place of olive oil if you want. If not, olive oil is fine

White Beans
1 14 oz can white beans (canellinni)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 t white pepper
1 t salt
1 T butter
1 t mustard powder
1/2 cup fresh parsley (or dill would probably be good too)
olive oil
sprinkle with fresh parmesean cheese before serving

Now you have three soups that can all be made out of cans from your fridge and pantry plus a few spices. Only the White Bean recipe has fresh parsley, although it would also be good in Chickpea and Cilanto good in Pinto. But sometimes we can't get to the store and we don't always have fresh herbs on hand, especially in the winter. Beany Noodley soup comes together in well under half an hour and the flavor gets better with age. I love it for lunch the next day so I usually double the recipe whenever I make it. The soup also freezes well and when you double it to make four servings you're using a whole lemon and lime so you don't have to package up and protect an errant half-lemon for later use.