Greek Chickpea Soup aka Revithosoupa

I'll often cook recipes that my parents taught me but add my own twist. Well, this won't be the case with this Revithosoupa. I remember my parents cooking this and patiently allowing the chickpeas to cook for up to 2 hours in order to get them perfectly soft. It created a cloudy soup that had an earthy flavour and every mouthful tasted like Greece. I remember thinking how delicious the rosemary and chickpeas tasted together and how I loved grabbing a thick slice of crusty bread to scoop more chickpeas onto my spoon.

Once the soup was cooked and removed from the heat, my parents always enhanced the flavour of the chickpeas, by drizzling a good amount of extra virgin olive oil, followed by a big squeeze of lemon juice, and then serving into bowls.

Helpful Tips

Dried Chickpeas

First and foremost you must use dried chickpeas for this soup, not canned ones.

Even though they require time (unless you have a pressure cooker), there is something that the chickpeas release whilst boiling over time that produces the most amazing stock. Whatever it is, it helps to thicken the soup and create a cloudy soup that looks like gravy. Trust me, its delicious.

Soaking Chickpeas

Make sure you soak the chickpeas for 24 hours. Yes, 24 hours not just overnight. What I do is soak them from when I get home in the afternoon and then the following afternoon they are ready to start cooking. The reason I say 24 hours is because the longer you soak them, the more plump and tender they become plus they are easier to digest.

Cooking the Chickpeas

How do you know if the chickpeas are cooked? Well, that depends unfortunately on each bag of chickpeas. Some need only an hour of cooking and some up to 2 hours so I would aim for 1.5 hours and taste test. You may find that they absorbed a lot of the water whilst cooking and need an extra cup. If this is the case make sure you only add boiling water to the already cooking pot, not cold water.

Storing / Refrigerating

How long can the soup stay in the fridge? I have had this soup in the fridge for up to 5 days and it has still been kept fresh. Make sure you try it cold out of the fridge too, as my kids love eating this soup cold rather than hot!

What to serve with Chickpea Soup?

Grab some fresh crusty bread, marinated olives, and crumbly feta. It is a winning combination!

And now it’s time to start cooking! As always, if you make any of my recipes, I would love to hear your feedback. I am available here via email or you can catch me daily on Instagram and Facebook. Don’t forget to save it on your Pinterest board as well! I have a board named CreateCookShare that you can save. Can’t wait to hear from you.

Happy Creating,

Margaret

Showing the difference of Dried and Soaked Chickpeas: they are double in size.

Revithosoupa aka Chickpea Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients:

500g dried chickpeas

8+ cups of water

2 large onions, finely diced

¼ cup fresh rosemary leaves, chopped

150ml extra virgin olive oil plus extra

Juice of 1 lemon

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions:

1. Soak the chickpeas for 24 hours in a large bowl filled with water. Drain and rinse under running water (above shows a photo of dried chickpeas and what they look like after they have been soaked for 24 hours).

2. Add chickpeas to a pot along with 8 cups of water. Bring to boil. Skim off any froth that rises to the surface using a spoon.

3. Now add the onions, rosemary leaves and extra virgin olive oil. Cover and simmer for 1 ½ hours checking if an extra cup of boiling water is needed half way through.

4. When the chickpeas are tender, turn off heat and add the juice of 1 lemon, season with plenty of sea salt and freshly ground pepper, and add 2-3 tablespoons more of extra virgin olive oil. Stir and cover. Allow sitting for 10 minutes before serving.

Optional and highly suggested: To thicken the soup, take a cup full of chickpeas and liquid and blend them in a food processor. Add them back into the soup and combine well. This gives it a thick and hearty texture.

Serve with crusty bread, marinated olives and crumbly feta. It is a winning combination!