Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Ham 'n' Chickpea Soup


Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

1/2 cup uncooked orzo pasta
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 cup cubed fully cooked lean ham
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
cups reduced-sodium beef broth
1 can (14 1/2 ounces)diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas or garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
4 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

Cook orzo according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in oil for 3 minutes. Add the ham, rosemary and sage; saute one minute longer. Stir in broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes.

Drain orzo; stir into soup. Add chickpeas, heat through. Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese and parsley.

Tips and Tricks
There is a lot of leeway with this recipe. I used great northern beans in place of chickpeas, garlic powder and Tastefully Simple Onion Onion in place of the fresh garlic and onion. I omitted the sage. I also put all the ingredients in a crockpot to simmer all day, and I threw some croutons in with the cheese. In place of the orzo, I used a quarter cup of quick cooking barley. This is a great way to use up leftover ham.
Make It Healthier
Be sure to rinse the beans well to remove most of the sodium.
How Kids Can Help
Dump ingredients in pan. Shred cheese. Measure spices.

Nutrition Facts
1 1/ cups equals 312 calories, 8 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 19 mg cholesterol, 1,015 mg sodium, 43 g carbohydrate, 7 g fiber, 18 g protein
Diabetic Exchanges
2 1/2 starch, 2 very lean meat, 1 vegetable, 1/2 fat

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Looks like a great recipe! How many cups of broth are there? It looks like that got cut off.