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chickpea and leek soup recipe

chickpea + leek soup

I’m feeling way better than I did a few days ago. I’ve been drinking loads of my lemon rosemary tea and clearing my sinuses with this, but Si’s still been complaining that I’m keeping him awake with my constant dry cough all night long. I’ve been so tired it hasn’t even been waking me up, but the nudge usually comes in at around 2am, a short sharp pang to the ribs, followed by a somewhat grumpy get a damn cough lolly would ya. I awake in the morning with that lovely furry mouth-feel and wonder how it is that I can still have a teeny little bit of lozenge on my tongue after all those hours of sleep?

I don’t know what it is but after hot lemon honey, like most people, I then crave soup when I’m sick. There’s loads of studies that have been done to prove that chicken soup does actually speed up recovery of the common cold, but I don’t reckon you need the chicken, just delete the en and add in pea and you have yourself a nourishing, warming, tasty chickpea and leek soup instead. 

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I’ve been wanting to play around with this soup idea for the past few weeks. Leeks are everywhere at the moment and with just a handful of pantry staples you can throw this together in very little time. I prefer to soak and cook the chickpeas myself whenever possible, but should you only have tinned ones to work with this could come together in as little time as it takes for you to toast and butter some bread.

I like to slather on some extra olive oil to serve but if you feel like it (and tolerate) I imagine some shavings of parmesan or pecorino cheese could take this soup to the next level.

What do you crave when you aren’t feeling well?


chickpea + leek soup





chickpea and leek soup


If you are using tinned chickpeas, drain and rinse them well and just use 1 litre of fresh water in place of the cooking liquor. Don’t be tempted to use the manky brine they come in.
serves 4-6


  • 1 1/2 cups (approx 250g) dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in plenty of water and a pinch of baking soda (or you could use approx 3 cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained well)
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
  • 1 large leek, washed well and thinly sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • gluten-free soy sauce or white miso paste, to taste, optional
Drain soaked chickpeas and give them a quick rinse, tip into a large pot and cover generously with fresh cold water. Bring to the boil, skimming off any foam that rises to the top. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 25-45 minutes or until chickpeas are soft. Drain and reserve cooking liquor. 
Meanwhile heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add sliced leeks and garlic and cook while stirring for 5-8 minutes or until leeks are really tender and sweet. Add in ground coriander and cook for a further minute until fragrant. Season well with sea salt and black pepper. Add in cooked chickpeas (approx 4 cups once cooked) and top the reserved cooking liquor up with cold water to make 1 litre (4 cups). Add to the chickpeas and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes then either using a stick blender or food processor blend half of the soup roughly before adding back into the remaining soup to thicken. Taste and season well with sea salt and black pepper, adding a touch of gluten-free soy sauce or white miso paste if desired to give it a more full bodied flavour. Serve hot.

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28 Responses

  3. I'm sorry you have been so sick. Those dry coughs are just the pits. I'm not great on chickpeas but the leek part of this soup looks divine, and I've just eaten so that's saying something.

  4. Delicious indeed, I'm so glad you're on the mend. I need a good soup when I'm ill, I usually go for a Thai style chicken and corn. The trouble its I usually feel to crappy to make it when I really need it 🙂

    1. Haha, I hear ya. If we were really onto it we'd stock the freezer full of sick-day-soup wouldn't we? But really, who's that organised? 🙂

  5. I often add kelp to thinks soups and stews – feel like that helps with boosting the nutrients? Very 70s!

    PS I love your Friday night (NZ time) posts…sadly I'm usually at home at that time 😉

    1. Kelp! Yes! When I was little we'd drown all our soups with kelp and nutritional yeast. God that brings back memories 🙂

      p.s It's been way to many years since I actually had a social life that extends to venturing out in the evening, I'm always home Friday nights too 🙂

  7. My kids favorite soup is chicken noodle soup without the chicken.Usually gets a giggle from people.A big bowl of rice noodles with a miso broth and whatever vegies in the fridge soup is what they actually get.Can not make my oldest eat a chickpea,he aways has a pile beside his plate.

  8. i hope you are well on your way to a full recovery! i've been having issues with dried anything recently. i've never heard of the pinch of baking soda in the overnight soak water before. does that help in the softening of the chickpeas? and would this trick help with other dried stuff like black beans?

    typically when i'm sick i crave chao (rice porridge) with lots of ginger + black pepper.

    1. Oh yum, I love chao, so do my kids.
      Re: baking soda, I've always added a pinch to the soaking water of chickpeas. Some people add a little pinch to the water when cooking them too, but I find they can go too mushy so just add it to my soaking water. It helps to soften them and I have a feeling it makes them more digestible too, although don't quote me on that. I've not tried it with other beans, but I don't see the harm in trying. xx

  9. I'm sorry to hear you've been sick – those dry coughs are awful and can take so long to go away. Sounds like you are taking good care of yourself with lots of tea and this delicious soup – love chickpeas and leeks. We like Greek egg-lemon soup with rice quite a bit, and if I have a cold I crave something spicy like hot and sour soup. Hope you are all better soon!

  11. You could have been describing our week, right down to the cough lollies! On the worst sleepless night I couldn't stop thinking about the lemon rosemary tea I had read on your post the previous day! I will try the soup this coming week. Thanks.

  15. I am glad to learn there is another option apart from Chicken soup when I am down with a flu. This chickpea and leek soup looks really soothing and comforting. I'd love to try soonest.
    Anyhoo, we have just recently launched a food photo submission site, http://www.yumgoggle.com/gallery/ that allows you to showcase all your great work and share it with all of our visitors. Your phenomenal photos have caught our attention. We’d be proud to have your work as part of our growing collection to continue to have a larger reach and further inspire all fellow food lovers out there! (sorry for the blatant shameless plug)!

  17. Emma, I hope you are feeling better!
    Well… I love soup any time of year, but especially when I'm sick. A classic chicken variety always seems to do the trick, but I would imagine your yummy leek and chickpea would be great medicine!
    xxoo
    E

  24. Thank you! I have been looking for a soup recipe that incorporates miso paste and I think Ihave just found it! Going to cook it today for lunch tomorrow:)

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