Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

andalusian chickpea and spinach soup

Recipe by
Vickie Parks
Renton, WA

This is a Spanish soup recipe (from the Andalusian region of Spain). The original recipe featured dry chickpeas that are soaked for 15 to 18 hours, and then they're boiled for 2 1/2 to 3 hours to soften enough to be ready to add to the soup recipe. This version utilizes pre-cooked (canned) chickpeas that are already softened, in order to significantly shorten the cooking time. If you have the time, you certainly can use 1 pound dry chickpeas. But start the day before you prepare the soup, as it takes about 20 hours to soak and boil them.

yield 6 serving(s)
prep time 10 Min
cook time 55 Min
method Stove Top

Ingredients For andalusian chickpea and spinach soup

  • 2 Tbsp
    olive oil
  • 1 md
    spanish onion, peeled and chopped
  • 3 clove
    garlic, minced
  • 14 oz
    canned diced tomatoes in juice,
  • 3 tsp
    sweet paprika
  • salt, to taste
  • 16 oz
    can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), undrained
  • 1 lb
    potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1/4 c
    dry white wine
  • black pepper, to taste
  • 2 c
    water
  • 1 pinch
    saffron
  • 1 lb
    fresh spinach leaves, stemmed and coarsely chopped

How To Make andalusian chickpea and spinach soup

  • 1
    Heat the oil over medium heat in a heavy soup pot and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add 2 of the garlic cloves and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, paprika and a generous pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes cook down to a fragrant sauce, 10 to 15 minutes.
  • 2
    Add the chickpeas with their liquid, the potatoes, wine, more salt to taste, pepper, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.
  • 3
    Stir in the remaining garlic, the saffron and the spinach and simmer another 5 minutes. Add freshly ground pepper, taste and adjust seasoning, and serve.
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