Make veggies the heart of your meal with this easy, filling soup.

Creamy Chickpea-Squash Soup (Crema di ceci e zucca)

1½ cups dried chickpeas (about 10.5 oz/300 g) or 2 cans (19 oz/540 mL each) no-salt-added chickpeas 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil 3 slices turkey bacon-style, chopped (2.8 oz/80 g) 1 onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 1½ cups chopped celery with leaves (see tip) 2 cups peeled, cubed butternut squash 7 cups no-salt-added vegetable or chicken broth 2 sprigs fresh rosemary ½ tsp sea salt Freshly ground black pepper to taste ¼ cup 2% evaporated milk Extra-virgin olive oil and crushed red pepper flakes for garnish (optional)

 1) Soak chickpeas overnight in enough water to cover them by several inches in a glass or ceramic bowl. Drain chickpeas, rinse and drain again when ready to use. (If using canned chickpeas, drain and rinse chickpeas just before preparing ingredients).

2) In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat and add bacon. Stir continuously until bacon is lightly browned, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add onion, garlic and celery and cook until softened. Add chickpeas, squash, broth, rosemary, salt and pepper; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until chickpeas are tender, about 45 minutes. (If using canned chickpeas, reduce cooking time to 20 minutes and follow the remaining instructions.) Remove and discard rosemary stems.

3) Remove soup from heat and immerse a stick hand blender in pot to purée soup until smooth (or carefully transfer soup in batches to the bowl of a food processor and return soup to pot). Return pot to burner and stir in evaporated milk until fully incorporated. Ladle into bowls and serve hot with a drizzle of olive oil (rosemary-infused is even better!) and crushed red pepper flakes, if desired.

6 Servings | Gluten-free | High in Beta-carotene (vitamin A)

PER SERVING: 169 CALORIES | 4 G TOTAL FAT (1 G SATURATED FAT) | 8 MG CHOLESTEROL | 461 MG SODIUM | 27 G CARBOHYDRATE | 5 G FIBER | 8 G PROTEIN