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    Home > Vegan Soup Recipes

    Italian Wild Rice Soup with Chickpeas, Asparagus and Leeks

    Posted: Apr 19, 2014 ยท Updated: Jan 21, 2022

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    Aย simple and easy weeknight meal for a one-pot Italian Wild Rice Soup with asparagus, leeks and chickpeas. Clean, healthy, and gluten-free.Italian Wild Rice Asparagus SoupWhen you live withย a dog, you soon start to see the world through his eyes.

    Aย dog's world is rich-- ย infinitelyย richer than our human one. We only appreciate the familiar and we are held back by our inhibitions and all those pesky little things like behaving ourselvesย in public. A dog, with no such irritants in the way, launches full-scale into appreciating everything he encounters on that hallowed daily ritual called the Walk. And by that I mean EVERYTHING. Plants, twigs, something incredibly delicious you can't even see but must be there because your dog just spent five whole minutes trying toย digย it out of the grass, a fire hydrant, even that bright orange cone left behind by a roadside crew gets a dog's full attention followed, most likely, by a shower.

    But the most attention is reserved, of course, for the animals.

    OpieNot the human animals so much because, let's face it, humans are boring. All they will do is hover over youย and hold out a hand to sniff, and after you've sniffed it in hopes that there was a treat in it what do you find? There isn't. Give me a break, you can almost hear the canine say.

    Luckily, other animals are much more fun.ย There are the squirrels, those little busybodies withย their incessant ritual of picking up acorns andย oversized objects in their tiny mouths, then carrying them back toย little tree holes to stash them away. For dogs a squirrel embodies the final prize: this is the creature they were put on earth to chase. And no matter how many generations of dogs come and go, and how fewย the squirrels they catch, the mission stays alive and fresh and festering,ย like a vendetta in a Manmohan Desai movie.

    At nearly 12, Opie walks slowly most of the time with lots of sitting breaks, but when he sees a squirrel-- at least for a moment-- he forgets he can't run like the wind anymore. He will race away, tugging at the leash, me flying helplessly behind. It's a pictureย I am glad you are not around to see.

    And then there are the bunnies. Oh my god, the bunnies. Opie loves ย bunnies even more so than the squirrels because they're rarer and therefore worth the exercise. Sometimes, as we drive through the neighborhood, Desi will slow down to point out a bunny with big, beady eyes to our furry little Playboy and it takes all of my strength to stop him from jumping out the window.

    The raccoons drive Opieย just a little mad, the little ones and the big ones, with their lovely, black-and-white painted faces. They slink up and down the trees in packs and they baffle himย because he never quite sees them, but he knows -- he just knows-- they are around. Arrgh. And the deer, all too visible when they visit our suburban neighborhood at night in groups to nibble on newย plants. The best Opie manages, when he spots them, is a bark, because he's not quite sure what he can do to a creature so elegant and so oversized.

    There's the fox. This beautiful, nimble little creature that stalks the neighborhood at night looking for food. He'sย barely bigger than a cat with a pert, intelligent face and a bushy red tail. Each night, after his walk, Opie squats out in the front yard, looking for action. Occasionally I'll hear him bark and go out to find the fox staring disdainfully at him, wondering why this fluffy creature is making all this noise.

    But if there's one creature Opie is truly besotted with and looks for each time he walks, it has to be Georgia the cat.

    Georgia, a gorgeous tabby with huge eyes that talk, is a feral cat who gets fed by just about everyone in the neighborhood, including Desi who is madly in love with her and would have brought her home long ago except that she knows how to put him in his place with a well-timed hiss. Likeย his dad, Opie is obsessed with Georgia, although for different reasons: he's not happyย she's eating all that delicious cat food daddy puts out whichย ย should be going into his own tummy by rights. So every time he steps out of the house he starts looking for her, nose working fast, so he can chase her away whereever she is. He's done it too, many times, but she is just too fast for him.

    I am not even going to talk about the dogs here because that's a long story for another day. For now, let's just say that there isn't a doggie butt for 10 miles around that Opie hasn't sniffed.

    So what are you still doing here? Don't you have anything better to do on your Saturday morning, like sniff the fence, circle a fire hydrant, and squint up a tree to see who might just have scurried up there? Go on, have fun! It's the weekend.

    ***

    Italian Wild Rice Asparagus SoupItalian food is what I cook most often in my kitchen-- after Indian food-- and that just goes on to show just how popular, and delicious, this cuisine is. And how versatile and easy. No matter where in the world you live, pastas and pizzas are quite likely among your favorite foods.

    My love for Italian food perhaps started, like many others, with a delivery pizza that has very little to do with real Italian food, but it was honed and refined over years ofย ย watching public television chefs like Lidia Bastianich and Mary Ann Esposito create magic in their kitchens. The one thing that had always put me off about Italian restaurant food was that everything seemed to be drowning in tomato sauce or inย cheese or both. But watching Lidia and Mary Ann taught me that real Italian food can beย fresh, wholesome and even healthy. I still love watching them becauseย althoughย neither of these cooks is vegan or even vegetarian,ย a lot of the foods they makeย are, to my mind, very vegetarian friendly.

    I adapted the Italian Wild Rice Soup with Asparagus, Leeks and Chickpeas I have for you today-- a soup with theย true Spring flavors of fresh vegetables-- from a recipe in the cookbook Lidia's Italy. Her versionย is vegetarian, although it contains cheese. I subbed out the arborio rice for some nutty, delicious wild rice and the cheese for some heart-healthy chickpeas. It was divine.

    I am going to run now to enjoy my weekend, but first, here's the recipe for the Italian Wild Rice Soup. It's super easy with very little prep and although you need to let the soup cook for more than an hour, it is a labor-free hour because you have to do precisely nothing.

    Enjoy!

    Italian Wild Rice Asparagus Soup

    Italian Wild Rice and Asparagus Soup

    A simple and easy weeknight meal for a one-pot Italian Wild Rice Soup with asparagus, leeks and chickpeas. Clean, healthy, and gluten-free.
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Review Recipe
    Course: Soup
    Cuisine: Italian
    Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
    Keyword: Vegan Italian wild rice and asparagus soup
    Prep Time: 10 mins
    Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins
    Total Time: 1 hr 40 mins
    Servings: 12 servings
    Calories: 244kcal
    Author: Vaishali ยท Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes

    Ingredients 

    • 6 large cloves garlic, crushed
    • 4 medium potatoes, cubed
    • 15 stalks of asparagus, hard ends trimmed. Cut the asparagus into ยฝ-inch pieces
    • 2 leeks, washed thoroughly and green and white parts cut into 1-inch pieces
    • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
    • 2 teaspoon dried sage
    • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 cup wild rice, can substitute with brown rice
    • 2 cups cooked chickpeas
    • Salt and ground black pepper to taste
    • Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
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    Instructions

    • Place the oil and garlic in a large pot over medium heat. Let the garlic cook, stirring often, until the garlic becomes lightly golden.
    • Add the potatoes and let them cook for about five minutes, stirring ever so often, until they begin to lightly color.
    • Add the leeks, red pepper flakes, season with salt and ground black pepper, add the sage, and the add 10 cups of water or vegetable stock to the pot.
    • Add the asparagus and the wild rice. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower heat until the pot is gently boiling and let the soup cook, uncovered, for about an hour. If the soup gets too dry (it shouldn't with this much water) add some more water.
    • Add the chickpeas and more salt and black pepper, if desired. Ladle into bowls and drizzle on some EVOO-- it's really worth the few additional calories, trust me, and olive oil is actually good for you.
    • Serve hot with a crusty Italian bread or by itself. This soup is a one-pot meal.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 244kcal | Protein: 10.4g | Fat: 3.5g | Fiber: 9.1g
    Tried this recipe?Please leave a comment and recipe rating below!
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    ***

    More vegan soups to nourish the belly and soul:

    • Detox Turmeric Ginger Miso Soup
    • Smoky Eggplant Soup with Za'atar
    • Garlicky White Bean Soup
    • Mushroom and Wild Rice Bisque
    • Virginia Peanut Soup
    • Butternut Squash Soup with Cinnamon and Cream
    • Leek and Potato Soup

     

    « Black Rice Risotto with Mushrooms and Caramelized Onions
    Quick Masala Dosa »
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    About Vaishali


    I cook and eat simple, tasty and nutritious plant-based food in my Washington, D.C. kitchen, but I never fight a craving for samosas or French fries. Read more about me here.

    Try these recipes next

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kelsey M

      April 24, 2014 at 2:28 pm

      This looks lovely!

      Reply
    2. Joe Rickerson

      April 21, 2014 at 9:41 pm

      5 stars
      I made this - sans wild rice - but I did put in the leeks. I think you forgot the leeks. I can't see them in the pictures or in the recipe beyond the ingredient list. And it took me 40 minutes prep time. I made enough for breakfast, lunch and dinner for a week for two. Very tasty and very healthy. Keep these recipes coming and keep us up to date on Opie. This was a very engaging story.

      Reply
      • Vaishali

        April 21, 2014 at 10:08 pm

        Hi Joe, how lovely that you tried it-- and liked it. I did add the leeks, but I forgot to add to the recipe. Thanks for pointing out-- I've added it now. And yes, I'll keep those stories on Opie coming. So happy you enjoyed it! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    3. Gita Jaishankar

      April 21, 2014 at 6:21 pm

      Opie looks too cute Vaishali...loved reading the antics about him especially about the squirrels ๐Ÿ™‚ Your soup recipe looks very interesting and inviting, going to try this healthy soup sometime soon ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
      • Vaishali

        April 21, 2014 at 10:09 pm

        Thanks, Gita! Opie sends you a big wag of his tail. ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    4. Pallavi Kulkarni

      April 19, 2014 at 12:17 pm

      Oh Opie is SO gorgeous! and so good at posing for a picture ๐Ÿ™‚ His soft shiny fur is so inviting, makes me feel like I want to bury my face in and I want to squeeze him:)

      Reply
      • Vaishali

        April 21, 2014 at 10:10 pm

        Hi Pallavi, he is gorgeous, isn't he? He sends you a big wag. ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply

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    Vaishali Honawar, Holy Cow Vegan author, profile photo

    Hi, I'm Vaishali! I cook, eat and share easy, tasty and nutritious plant-based recipes from my Washington, D.C. kitchen, but I never fight a craving for samosas or French fries. 

    More about me โ†’

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    Vaishali Honawar, Holy Cow Vegan author, profile photo

    Hi, I'm Vaishali! I cook, eat and share easy, tasty and nutritious plant-based recipes from my Washington, D.C. kitchen, but I never fight a craving for samosas or French fries. 

    More about me โ†’

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