What's Cooking Wednesday: Indian-Spiced Chickpea and Fire-Roasted Tomato Soup

I'm trying to lighten things up, meal-wise, these days, but there's something so boring about soup and sandwiches.  Imagine my excitement, then, when I found two awesome recipes for jazzed up tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches!

For the soup:

1/4 cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained

1/2 small onion, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

salt and pepper

1 cup chicken stock

1 28-ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes

1/4 cup plain yogurt

Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium heat.  Add the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Combine the chickpeas and onions in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.  Add to the pot and cook for 5 minutes to sweeten the onions.  Season the chickpeas with the cumin, cardamom, turmeric, salt, and pepper.  Stir in the stock, and then the tomatoes, and simmer the soup 5-10 minutes to combine the flavors.  Serve with a dollop of yogurt on top.

For the sandwich:

4 slices bread

butter

6 slices brie cheese

4 slices tomato

4 ounces goat cheese, cut into 4 slices

6 slices bacon

Butter one side of each slice of bread.  On non-butter side of two slices, layer 3 slices brie, 2 slices tomato, and 2 slices goat cheese.  Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until golden and crispy.  Drain on a plate lined with paper towel.  When bacon is dried, layer 3 slices on top of the goat cheese.  Top each sandwich with the remaining two slices of bread, butter side up.  Cook sandwiches on a griddle until the bread is golden brown, 3-4 minutes per side, and pressing bread down with a spatula so the melted cheese will cause the sandwich to stick together.

Serves 2.

Soup recipe adapted from 2, 4, 6, 8 Great Meals for Couples or Crowds, by Rachael Ray.  

Sandwich recipe adapted from Throwdown, by Bobby Flay.