Chickpea soup

A Main-dish recipe, by Gina Lioti.

2 servings

10 mins prep

1.5 hr cooking

12 hrs wait

“Soups are eaten as main dishes in Greece. Warming and filling, especially during the winter, dry legumes, like lentils, beans and chickpeas make tasty dishes. They are usually served with bread or other meze.”

Gina Lioti

Ingredients

Tip: Click on ingredients to discover more recipes!

To serve ingredients:

Instructions

Put the chickpeas in a bowl and cover them with water. Use a bowl that fits them all, leaving space on top because they will rise, for a night or two, if you can. Change the water a few times, if possible, or else wash them very well before you are ready to cook them.
It is better if you can remove at least some of the skins, but it is a matter of preference. I prefer them with the skins on, I like their texture and I think they add to the dish. If you want to remove them, you can drain the chickpeas, throw salt on them and rub them until they all come out. If you do that, rinse them well, to remove all the excess salt.
Place the chickpeas in a pot with water covering them and boil them. Change the water again, once or twice, making sure you throw all of the froth at the top. Your chickpeas should always be covered with water, while they cook.
You turn down the temperature, simmering until the chickpeas are soft and tender, for about 1 hour. Add water any time your water level drops more than 1-2 cm from the top of your chickpeas.
Cut the carrots and onion in small pieces and crush your garlic. Add them to your pot and cook for about half an hour, or until your carrots are tender. If you like you can add them a bit later, so they are a little crunchy. I add the garlic first, so it melts and mixes with the chickpeas and only add the carrots and onions about 15 minutes before the soup is ready.
Towards the end add the turmeric, salt, black pepper, saffron, cayenne pepper and/or chilli flakes or freshly chopped.
Serve with olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Final notes

If you prefer your soup a little more mushy, you can mix 2-3 tablespoons of flour (coconut flour is even better) with the lemon and mix it in your soup towards the end. Or you can take a few tablespoons of your chickpea soup, with the carrots, onions and everything and mush them with a fork, or an electronic mini chopper, if you have one, then add the mixture to your soup. Or you can do both and add them to your soup, depending on how you like it.