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Sopa de grão com espinafres
Chickpea and spinach soup
Sopa de grão com espinafres: creamy chickpea soup with wilted spinach and olive oil
This is everyday food in the villages of the Beira interior, where chickpeas are a winter store-cupboard standby and a big pot of soup starts most lunches and suppers. Part of the chickpeas are blended with potato and onion for a creamy base, the rest left whole, and fresh spinach is stirred in at the end. It is filling, cheap and ready in under an hour. A common mistake is boiling the spinach in the soup for too long; add it at the end and cook it only until it wilts. Chef's tip: add the spinach only at the last minute, as long cooking turns it grey and bitter.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onionchopped
- 3 cloves garlicchopped
- 1 carrotchopped
- 1 potatoabout 200 g, peeled and cubed
- 1 ¾ lb cooked chickpeasdrained (2 tins)
- 6 ¼ cups water or vegetable stock
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 9 oz fresh spinachwashed, large stalks removed
- ¼ tsp black pepper
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Warm 3 tablespoons of the 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a large pan and cook the 1 onion, 3 cloves garlic and 1 carrot over a medium heat for 8 minutes, until soft.
8 minStep 2: Add the 1 potato, two-thirds of the 1 ¾ lb cooked chickpeas, the 6 ¼ cups water or vegetable stock and 1 ½ tsp salt. Simmer for 20 minutes, until the potato is falling apart.
22 minStep 3: Blend until smooth with a stick blender, then add the remaining chickpeas and simmer for 5 minutes.
6 minStep 4: Stir in the 9 oz fresh spinach and cook for 2 minutes, just until wilted and bright green. Season with ¼ tsp black pepper and serve with the remaining olive oil drizzled over.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 260 kcal
- Protein
- 10 g
- Carbs
- 32 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 9 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sopa de grão com espinafres take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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