Persian Spiced Vegetable Soup

Published on January 5, 2021 | By
spicy persian soup

This creamy, Persian spiced vegetable soup does not use the typical ingredients that you may find in your grandmother’s vegetable soup. Most vegetable soup recipes recommend sautéing onions, carrots, celery and tomatoes as a base. After that, I have been known to use whatever was available at the farmer’s market or whatever I may have handy in the refrigerator. That could include yellow and zucchini squash, peppers, turnips, and cabbage. This Persian spiced vegetable soup recipe includes the tomatoes and onions, but also has leeks, butternut squash, and garbanzo beans. The soup is pureed and spiced with cumin, cinnamon and smoked paprika, resulting in a velvety textured soup with a robust flavor.

I used a recipe in the cookbook “Persiana” by Sabrina to guide my interpretation of this hearty Persian style soup. The author suggests, as I do too, that you take the liberty to use whatever vegetables may be available to you.

The soup is gluten free and dairy free. The butternut squash and potatoes add to the rich creamy texture and flavor without using flour or cream. You can opt to garnish the soup with feta if you like, but if you prefer a dairy free version, then you can skip this step.

What I love about this soup is the extras. The added garbanzo beans or chick peas in the soup after it is pureed provide a little texture. The caramelized onions and browned chick peas top the soup and provide flavor and texture contrasts as well as wonderful earthy aromas.

Finally, and most importantly, a dollop of an herby pistachio pesto, sans cheese, brings a bright burst of flavor and color that you will enjoy with every bite.

This hearty soup can be served as a main course and is guaranteed to satisfy your appetite for healthy eating on a cold winter day.

    • Prep Time
    • Minutes
    • Cook Time
    • Minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 medium onion, chopped and 1 onion sliced in half then sliced thinly into half circles
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 3 leeks washed, trimmed, white parts only chopped finely
  • 2 lbs butternut squash, cubed
  • 3 small to medium yellow potatoes, roughly cubed
  • 5 medium tomatoes, seeded and roughly chopped
  • 5 tsp of ground cumin
  • 1 TBSP cinnamon
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 3-4 tsp hot pepper paste to taste, I used harissa
  • fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 2-14 oz cans of garbanzo beans, rinsed
  • 4 oz of feta cheese
  • 3 TBSP ghee or olive oil
  • for pistachio pesto:
  • 6 TBSP olive oil
  • 1/2 cup of flat leaf parsley
  • 1/2 cup of cilantro
  • 1/4 cup of shelled pistachios
  • juice of 1/2 lemon

Instructions

  1. Heat the ghee or olive oil in a stock pot or large dutch oven oven over medium heat. Add the onions, butternut squash, leeks, garlic, and potatoes and sauté until all of the vegetables begin to slightly soften but not brown.
  2. Add the chopped tomatoes and spices to the vegetable mixture. Cover the vegetables with water (or you can opt to use a vegetable stock). Add a big pinch of sea salt and some freshly ground pepper. Stir and bring to a gentle boil. Then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
  3. Test the squash and potatoes to see if they are cooked through and soft by inserting a knife into a few pieces. Place the vegetables into a blender or a food processor in batches and puree until smooth.
  4. Return the pureed soup to the pot. Stir in the garbanzo beans reserving about 1/2 cup for a garnish. Add more water if needed to get the soup to the consistency that you desire. Check the seasonings and add more salt and pepper if needed. Add hot pepper paste, stir, and check for spiciness. Simmer for another 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
  5. While the soup continues to simmer, melt the remaining TBSP of ghee, or more if needed, in a small skillet over medium to high heat. Sauté the onion slices until lightly browned and beginning to crisp. Add remaining half cup of garbanzo beans and brown them lightly.
  6. For the pesto: In a food processor or a blender, place the parsley, cilantro and the pistachios. Blend until finely chopped. Drizzle in the olive oil while the processor is running until the pesto becomes the consistency of a paste. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  7. To serve: Ladle the soup into a shallow but wide bowl. Garnish with browned onion and garbanzo mixture, a dollop of pistachio pesto and a a sprinkle of crumbled feta.
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