2 Tbsp - olive oil
4 - cloves garlic, minced
2 - medium onions, chopped
4 - medium carrots, thinly sliced
4 - celery stalks, thinly sliced
6 to 8 - sprigs fresh thyme
1 - bay leaf
2 quarts - vegetable broth
8 oz - whole wheat rotini noodles
1 cup - cooked chickpeas
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Crackers or bread, for garnish
- In a cast-iron Dutch oven or large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, onions, carrots, celery, fresh thyme and bay leaf and sauté until the veggies are softened, but not browned.
- Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil.
- Once the soup is boiling, add the noodles and chickpeas and cook for about 8 minutes, until the noodles are almost completely cooked (don’t worry, they’ll continue cooking in the water). Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Remove from the heat and serve with freshly chopped parsley and salty crackers or bread.
- Leftover soup can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen indefinitely and reheated as needed. I recommend leaving out the noodles when you freeze the soup. Then quickly cook some pasta in your favorite shape and add it to the soup after you reheat it.