Marcella Hazan's classic ragù sauce recipe is pure, long-simmered comfort in a pot.
Photo: Photo and Styling by Julia Gartland
| Active Time: | Total Time: | Yield: |
|---|---|---|
| 30 mins | 3 hrs 30 mins | 6 servings |
This Greek chickpea soup with lemon is packed with vegetables and enhanced with Mediterranean flavours for a nutritious yet super tasty dinner. The perfect warming comfort food for a cold winter's night, revithia soupa is naturally vegan and pairs well with some crusty bread.
I love vegan Mediterranean recipes because they're incredibly full of flavour and they're also super easy to make (most of the time, I'm looking at you, moussaka).
This chickpea soup with lemon (revithia soupa) is a vegan Greek recipe that's easy to make and super satisfying at the same time.
It's typically made with dry chickpeas that you have to soak overnight and then boil for up to an hour, but nobody's got time for that.
I make it with tinned chickpeas, and I promise you it's so tasty I'm always gulping it down like there's no tomorrow. The only secret is to buy high-quality tinned chickpeas, organic if possible – it really makes a difference.
Ingredients
This is a very simple recipe that's also budget-friendly, and you only need a handful of ingredients to make it.
As mentioned above, chickpeas are key here. If you use tinned chickpeas, simply rise them off and use them just like they are.
If you're not one to cut corners and want to do it the authentic Greek way, you need to soak dry chickpeas overnight because this makes them tender and reduces cooking time.
You're also looking at cooking the soup for 1-2 hours instead of 30 minutes if using dry chickpeas.
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Lemons are super important for this chickpea soup as well. I only use the juice, but you can add the zest too, if you want the soup to be extra lemony.
The juice of two medium lemons is typically enough, but you can adjust this according to your taste.
I use fresh rosemary for this soup for a true taste of the Mediterranean, but you can skip it or use dry rosemary instead.
I take off the needles from the sprig and mince them instead of simply simmering the soup with an entire sprig of rosemary inside because I really like the flavour. You can do it either way, depending on how much you like rosemary.
Directions
You start by frying the onion, garlic, and the rest of the vegetables for a couple of minutes. They don't need to be completely cooked at this point.
You then add the herbs and cook a bit more to allow them to infuse the veggies, add the chickpeas, veggie stock, stir well and let it simmer for 25-30 minutes with a lid on.
When the soup is ready, add some extra olive oil (optional but highly recommended) and the lemon juice. Season to taste, and you're done — you have a delicious vegan chickpea soup with minimal effort.
What do you serve with it?
I like to make my crispy rosemary focaccia for this soup (and basically any other soup), but you can serve it with your favourite crusty bread.
You can also serve it with Kalamata olives on the side for an authentic Greek experience, or, if you're not a vegan, with feta cheese slices.