Nutty, fresh, and deliciously filling — that’s what you will get in every serving of Greek Chickpea Soup. Excellent as an appetizer, but you’ll surely end up having it as a light meal on its own!
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Locally known as ‘Revithia Soupa,’ this vegetarian chickpea soup is a perfect example that you don’t need expensive or complicated ingredients to serve flavorsome and nourishing dishes.
Leftovers, if you’ll have any left, would taste even better. 🙂
Ingredients
- Bay leaves – I used dried bay leaves in this recipe, but feel free to use fresh ones if you have them.
- Olive oil – use the mild ones instead of the bold, robust-flavored types.
- Onion – white or yellow onions are good. The idea is they will disappear in the soup, or if there’s any left, they will blend in with the rest of the ingredients.
- Dried oregano – you can use fresh ones too.
- Salt & pepper – for seasoning
- Flour – all-purpose flour will do.
- Lemon – the lemon juice is needed on the last part of the cooking, to give it that extra ‘oomph.’
- Dried chickpeas – I suggest you only cooked it halfway, and then you finish cooking with the rest of the ingredients in this soup.
So, if it usually takes you an hour and a half to cook dried chickpeas on your stovetop, cook it for only forty-five minutes, drain, rinse and drain again — then combine it with the rest of the ingredients to start with this easy chickpea soup recipe (for photo 1 below).
Preparation
Start by combining the semi-cooked chickpeas, chopped onion, salt, pepper, oregano, bay leaves, and olive oil in a medium-sized pan (photo 1).
Add about four cups of water (photo 2).
Place the saucepan on medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
Adjust heat to medium-low and simmer until chickpeas are completely cooked (about forty to forty-five minutes).
Combine flour and lemon juice in a small bowl (photo 3).
Mix until the flour has dissolved.
Pour flour and lemon juice mixture into the soup (photo 4).
Taste and adjust seasoning, mix and cover with a lid.
After about two minutes, take the pan off the heat and serve.
Helpful tips
- You can use less oregano, of course, and even fresh ones, if that’s what you prefer.
- Make sure you chop the onions finely. The idea is for them to disintegrate in the soup, or if there’s any left, those will blend (not stand out) with the rest of the ingredients.
- It is ok to skip the flour at the end if you are happy with the consistency of the soup. But do not forget the lemon juice; the chickpea soup needs it for that ‘freshness kick.’
FAQs
- CAN I USE CANNED CHICKPEAS?
Yes, you can do that.
Make sure you rinse them correctly, though, and adjust the time for cooking. Since the canned garbanzo beans are already soft, you need to cook them for a shorter time.
- WHAT DO I SERVE WITH THIS?
Traditionally, kalamata and crusty bread are served with Greek chickpea soup.
Admittedly, sometimes I skip the bread, but never the olives. I always serve kalamata with it, because they’re excellent together. 🙂
Don’t you believe me? Give it a try then, and let me know what you think in the comment section below!
If you want another traditional Greek dish, then you might like Greek Baked Giant Beans (Gigantes Plaki)!
Greek Chickpea Soup
Ingredients
- 1 & 1/4 cup dried chickpeas (250 grams), 3 cups cooked
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 pcs dried bay leaves
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 tbsp flour
- salt and pepper, to season
Instructions
- Using a medium-sized saucepan, combine the semi-cooked chickpeas, chopped onion, salt, pepper, oregano, bay leaves, and olive oil.
- Add 4 cups of water and place the pan over medium-high heat.
- Bring to a boil, adjust the heat to medium-low and continue simmering until the chickpeas are fully cooked — generally takes 40 to 45 minutes.
- Using a small bowl, combine flour and lemon juice, and mix until the flour has dissolved.
- Add flour mixture into the soup and mix.
- Taste and adjust seasoning, mix and cover with a lid.
- After a couple of minutes, take the pan off the heat.
- Transfer gaarbanzo bean soup into serving bowls.
- Serve.
Notes
- Feel free to use fresh oregano instead, or less dried ones, whichever you prefer.
- You can use canned chickpeas to make this garbanzo bean soup — but you have to adjust the cooking time since those are already fully cooked.
- Remember to chop the onions finely, so they will blend with the rest of the ingredients (if they still have not fallen apart by the time of serving).
- If you are ok with the soup’s consistency, skip the adding of the flour, but not the lemon juice. The acidity of the lemon amps up the freshness level of this vegetarian chickpea soup.
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