Thai Coconut curried soup with chickpeas

adapted from lespetitesgourmettes.com

*I absolutely love this soup from Pita Jungle.  I found this copy cat recipe but had to make some adjustments since it didn't have the right texture and seasoning.  It turned out delicious!!!  Easy to make and filling. Enjoy!

Coconut Curried Soup with Chickpeas

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and finely diced
1 orange bell pepper, cored, seeded and finely diced
1 poblano pepper, cored, seeded and finely diced
2 large shallots, peeled and minced
1  small jalapeño chili pepper, seeded and minced (I like spicy so I used a large jalapeño)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 cans light coconut milk (I used 2 cans light milk and 1 can regular. I felt it needed 3 cans total)
1  1/2 to 2  1/2 tablespoons red curry paste, or more to taste (I used 4 tbsps....again, I like it spicy)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 to 2 teaspoons agave nectar or honey, to taste (I don't eat agave so I used 2 tbsp honey)
1 large tomato, diced
1 cup diced crimini mushrooms (I used closer to 2 cups)
2 cups drained and rinsed chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans)
1/3 cup minced fresh Italian parsley, plus more for garnish

These ingredients were not part of the recipe, but I added for more flavor:

1-1 1/2 Tbsp curry powder

1 Tbsp Tumeric

I felt the soup needed more spice!

Instructions;

-Heat large saucepan with 1 Tbsp oil on medium high heat.  Add red and orange peppers, poblano, shallot, jalapeño, garlic and ginger.  Saute until vegetables are tender, about 5-6 min

-Season vegetables with salt and pepper.  Then add the coconut milk, and curry paste.  Stir well to blend and bring to a low simmer for 5 min

-Add soy sauce, honey, and more paste if needed.  Also add turmeric and curry powder at this time.

-Stir in the tomato, mushrooms, and chickpeas; continue to simmer over medium for another 5 minutes.  Taste again and adjust seasoning to your liking.

-add minced parsley and stir to combine.

-I added one final step.  I ladled the soup out of the saucepan and put in my Vitamix blender.  I pulsed it and then put back into the pot. I had to do this 3 times because of the quantity.  Be careful not to overfill the blender because the soup is hot (don't fill more than half way and pulse it on the low speed).  After pulsing all the soup, put it back in the pan mix and serve.  I liked it better with the chick peas slightly blended.  It also helped thicken the soup to the right thickness.  It looked and tasted just like the soup at Pita Jungle.  You can omit this step, but I felt it added to the soup.

-I serve it with pita chips!