Chickpea Soup: the hearty recipe for a simple and genuine comfort food

Chickpea soup is a hearty Italian-style comfort food, perfect for pampering yourself during a cold fall or winter evening. This invigorating, vegetarian dish has a savory Mediterranean flavor, which has the power to warm body and heart.

Easy to make, it is prepared with simple and genuine ingredients. The main ingredient of the dish are obviously the chickpeas, legumes rich in vegetable proteins, fibers and precious micronutrients.

For a perfect soup recipe, we recommend using dried chickpeas and soaking them from the previous evening, then boiling them in water until they are soft, in this way they will also be much more digestible. Flavor chickpeas with a base of oil and aromatic herbs, cover with the hot homemade vegetable broth and continue cooking until the soup is creamy and well blended.

Once ready, transfer it to individual bowls, complete with a drizzle of oil and serve this hearty soup with croutons, or slices of fresh bread. You can also make it in advance and enjoy it the next day, resting will further intensify its flavors and aroma.

What to serve with Hearty Chickpea Soup

You can serve this chickpea soup together with some croutons, toasted bread slices or a focaccia. To complete your meal, serve it with a simple side like a tossed salad.

Tips for Mediterranean Chickpea Soup

You can also add a handful of pasta or rice and, for a more full-bodied main dish, complete with grated Parmesan cheese or strips of bacon, toasted in a pan.

You can also use store-bought chickpeas. Choose those preserved in glass jars, and replace the vegetable broth with hot water.

To make a Moroccan-style chickpea soup, add your favorite spices, a few tablespoons of tomato puree and some kale leaves.

For a Greek-style chickpea soup, add the juice of 2 lemons.

To thicken your soup, you can also add a boiled and blended large potato.

For a flavorful chickpea soup, you can add crispy bacon pieces.

For an even more tasty result, you can blend a part of the chickpea soup with an immersion mixer and then reunite it with the other part of the soup.

How to store Chickpea Soup

The chickpea soup can be stored in the refrigerator, in a special airtight container, for 1-2 days. You can also freeze it.

How to make Chickpea Soup

Gather the chickpeas in a bowl, cover with cold water 1 and let them soak overnight.

The next day, drain them, rinse them well and boil them in a pan starting from cold water 2.

Once cooked, drain 3 and set aside.

Prepare the broth; clean the celery and carrot; wash the onion carefully, but do not remove the peel, because it will release its color to the broth, making it golden. Transfer the aromatic herbs to a large saucepan and cover with cold water 4.

Add a teaspoon of salt 5.

Also add the cherry tomatoes, then put on the heat and cook for about 60 minutes starting from the boil 6.

Clean the leek and cut it into thin slices 7.

Clean the celery and chop finely 8.

Peel the carrot, trim it and cut it into small pieces 9.

Peel the onion and chop finely 10.

Pour a drizzle of oil into a saucepan, add the leek 11 and brown slightly.

Add the other vegetables and let them flavor for a few minutes 12.

Pour a little hot broth 13 and cook until the vegetables are soft. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the previously boiled chickpeas 14.

Flavor with a sprig of rosemary 15.

Cover with the broth 16.

Continue cooking for about 25 minutes, or in any case until the soup is soft and well blended 17. If you like it creamier, take a cup, blend it with an immersion mixer and mix it with the rest of the soup.

Distribute the soup in individual bowls, complete with a drizzle of raw oil and serve 18.