Two Garbanzo (Chickpea) Soups! 🌞

VEGETABLE AND CHICKPEA SOUP



GLUTEN FREE ✦ NUT FREE ✦ VEGAN

PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES • COOK TIME: 45 MINUTES • SERVES 6

This soup is the minestrone of the East. In Italy the soup contains
cannellini beans and is flavored with fresh or dried basil; in this
version I use chickpeas and mint for a unique spin. Serve this soup
over rice for a more filling meal.

½ cup olive oil, divided
1 onion, finely chopped
½ cup tomato paste
10 cups water
1 (16-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
4 garlic cloves, mashed, divided
⅛ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 potatoes, cut into ½-inch cubes
2 tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 zucchini, cut into ½-inch cubes
4 cups fresh baby spinach
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon dried mint
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 In a large soup pot over medium heat, heat ¼ cup of olive oil. Add the
onion and cook for 5 minutes.

2 Add the tomato paste and 1 cup of water and stir until the paste
dissolves. Add the remaining 9 cups of water, the crushed tomatoes, 2
garlic cloves, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil.

3 Gently add the potatoes to the pot. Simmer for 5 minutes.

4 Add the tomatoes, zucchini, and spinach. Simmer for 15 minutes.

5 Add the chickpeas and cook for 5 minutes more.

6 In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the remaining ¼
cup of olive oil.

7 Add the remaining 2 garlic cloves and sauté for 1 minute. Add the mint
and cook for 1 minute more. Remove the saucepan from the heat, stir
in the lemon juice, and pour the oil mixture into the soup pot. Stir until
well mixed and simmer for 5 minutes before serving.

VARIATION TIP: For a more traditional minestrone soup, like the one
found in Italy, replace the chickpeas with cannellini beans and replace
the mint with basil. Top with grated Parmesan for added richness.

From "The Vegetarian Mediterranean Cookbook"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49856153-vegetarian-mediterranean-cookbook

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Clay-Baked Chickpea Soup from Sifnos
SIFNOS REVITHADA



Makes 6 to 8 servings

This soup is one of the simplest, most delicious dishes
in all of Greece. In Sifnos, it is the mainstay of the
Sunday meal. We were staying in the village of Artemona
when I first saw how the local revithada is
made and all the rituals surrounding it. Local cooks
use juglike clay vessels to bake it in. They prepare the
soup on Saturday evening and take it to the woodburning
oven of the village baker. There it simmers
all night—the oven is not ignited, but it is always
warm. On Sunday the baker lines up the vessels on
the old tiled floor of the bakery. Some have names
marked on them; some are new. Most, though, are
charred from use and somehow easily recognizable by
their owners, who pick them up after church.
The secret to making this properly is in the clay
vessel and in the extremely slow cooking, so you will
also need a deep earthenware dish with a lid. You will
need to start this soup the day before.

1 pound dried chickpeas, preferably organic, picked over and rinsed
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1⁄2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight in ample water
to which you have added the baking soda. Drain,
rinse, and drain again.

2. Place the chickpeas, onions, olive oil, bay leaf,
salt, and pepper in a large pot. Add enough water to
cover everything by 31⁄2 inches. Bring to a boil,
reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the
chickpeas have softened slightly, 45 to 50 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Empty the contents of
the pot into a large earthenware dish. Cover
the dish and bake until the chickpeas are tender,
about 2 hours. The timing on this dish is never exact,
because much depends on the age of the chickpeas—
if they’ve been on the shelf for a while, they
will take a long time to cook. In any event, the
chickpeas should remain whole and not disintegrate,
but the soup should be thick. While the chickpeas are
baking, check the water content occasionally and
add more water if necessary to keep everything
from sticking.

Remove the bay leaf. Serve hot.

From " The Glorious Foods of Greece"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1273032.The_Glorious_Foods_of_Greece

Love Garbazos hot or cold! Enjoy!