Simple Cretan chickpea soup

Simple Cretan chickpea soup

4 of 5 (2)
member ratings
Nutritional Info
  • Servings Per Recipe: 9
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 230.6
  • Total Fat: 13.9 g
  • Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
  • Sodium: 25.0 mg
  • Total Carbs: 37.3 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 14.1 g
  • Protein: 11.2 g

View full nutritional breakdown of Simple Cretan chickpea soup calories by ingredient


Introduction

Chickpeas have become one of my favorite foods in the world since I tried this soup.Don't let its simplicity fool you; yes, it's super easy to make, with very simple and cheap ingredients and I just can't have enough! I don't use canned chickpeas, or any canned food at that, but I guess you could make this recipe a 5-minute deal using canned chickpeas. What's more, you get to experience what REAL, everyday Mediterranean food tastes like, instead of what they usually offer in restaurants, which is mostly food that people here eat only in special occasions (any more frequently and we'd all have vanished due to heart disease :P) Chickpeas have become one of my favorite foods in the world since I tried this soup.Don't let its simplicity fool you; yes, it's super easy to make, with very simple and cheap ingredients and I just can't have enough! I don't use canned chickpeas, or any canned food at that, but I guess you could make this recipe a 5-minute deal using canned chickpeas. What's more, you get to experience what REAL, everyday Mediterranean food tastes like, instead of what they usually offer in restaurants, which is mostly food that people here eat only in special occasions (any more frequently and we'd all have vanished due to heart disease :P)
Number of Servings: 9

Ingredients

    500 grams Dry uncooked chickpeas, soaked overnight in lightly salted water
    1.5 large onion, finely chopped
    0.5 cup olive oil (preferably extra virgin)
    juice of 2 lemons
    2 tablespoons white flour
    salt to taste
    pinch of pepper
    pinch of fresh thyme (optional)

Tips

Be very careful when cooking legumes, so that you don't "scare" them bu suddenly changing the temperature. If you add the chickpeas to already hot water for example, they will harden and no amount of cooking time will be enough.
So, if you see that at some point the water is not enough, don't just go pouring a little more in without heating it to a boil first.


Directions

Drain the soaked chickpeas and rinse well.

Put them in a pot, with about 7-8 cups of cold water, over medium heat, and bring to a boil

Meanwhile,finely chop the onions and just add them in the soup

Cover and simmer in low heat for about an hour and a half (or about 30 minutes if you use a pressure cooker, but remember that the slower you cook chickpeas, the tastier they get). Cooking time depends on the quality and freshness of the chickpeas, or the composition of the water, so I'm just giving an average for most dried chickpeas you can find in the market .

Once they are very tender and buttery, mix the lemon juice with the flour until lumps are gone. Pour mixture over the soup while stirring with a wooden spoon. Pour the olive oil in, salt and pepper to taste, turn the heat off, cover and let simmer a little until the stove cools off.

Top with a pinch of fresh thyme and serve with toasted sour dough bread and Kalamata olives (optional)

Serving Size: makes about 9 cup-sized servings of soup

Number of Servings: 9

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user STELLAKEME.

Member Ratings For This Recipe


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    Good
    Tasty recipe. - 12/15/19


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    A tasty recipe. I love chickpeas but never know what to do with them except in bean salad. Thanks - 12/13/19


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    I sweated the onion before adding chick peas for cooking. I can't imagine just dumping raw onions into liquid. - 11/1/19


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    Interesting! - 9/1/18


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    Incredible!
    This was absolutely delicious! Tastes to me as a vegan version of chicken soup, and hubby also loved it! Great tips on cooking the chickpeas properly. Will definitely make again. - 7/23/14