I was going to call this one vegan Manhattan clam chowder, but that would be just wrong. There are no clams. It’s not really chowder, even though, um…neither is conventional Manhattan clam chowder (which I have no explanation for). Also, it came out of my kitchen in southeastern Pennsylvania. So I’m calling it Manhattan Chickpea Chowder. I can handle being two-thirds wrong. My experience with conventional Manhattan clam chowder is limited to serving it to people while I waited tables during my college years. I really didn’t find it to be the least bit appealing, but I’m sure that had something to do with the clams. One key to being good with food though is exploring foods that you don’t find appealing, figuring out what’s so unappealing about them, and then ditching that and playing up everything else. So it was really convenient that once I took the clams out of Manhattan clam chowder, I liked pretty much everything about the soup. Tomatoes, potatoes, veggies and savory herbs are all a-okay with me. I was pretty tempted to leave the soup at that, but most of the time when I take something away, I like to replace it with something else. That’s how I ended up with chickpeas. Could I just call this veggie chickpea tomato soup? Yes, but that wouldn’t be as fun. And all those people who pick on vegan cooks for naming their dishes after non-vegan foods would have no reason to pick on me, so I opted to avoid ruining the fun. Whatever you decide to call this, it’s pretty much perfect for dinner on a cold January night. Throw in some crusty bread and you’ve got yourself a meal.
