Spaff’s African Chickpea Soup

Derrick joined us last year, in between insane runs through the Canadian arctic, snowshoe races, and his impressive beer streak.  Find out more at Spafford Health and Adventure.

“One of Sara’s and mine favourite recipes is African Chickpea Soup. We’ll put it in the slow cooker 

and then enjoy it after we return from a long snowshoe run. We will usually have it with a dark ale, but have recently been enjoying it with Cassel Brewery Black Express Stout (CasselBrewery.ca).”

The soup is pretty flexible and you can add certain things and subtract other things. We tend to usually make it quite hot and spicy, but have toned it down some when we make it as a post-race meal for races we organize.

Ingredients & Instructions:

2 tsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large sweet potato, chopped
1-2 red peppers, chopped
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
4 cups vegetable broth (add more, or water, depending on consistency desired)
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 14-oz. cans diced tomatoes
2 oz. spinach, chopped (about 2 cups)

Saute onions and garlic. Add all remaining ingredients except spinach and simmer until heated. (Or add everything to a slow cooker and cook on low for several hours.) Stir in spinach just before serving.