Sunday was my father’s day to get into the kitchen and relax by cooking wonderful dishes, including Sephardic favorites from his family like chickpea soup. Poppi started the soup by browning a good-sized beef bone with lots of diced onions also in the pot. Once all the sides of the bone were browned and the onions were almost soft, he would add some minced garlic, let it cook a couple minutes more and then add water to cover the bone by a few inches. After bringing it all to a boil, he put the lid on and let the ingredients simmer for at least an hour before skimming foam off the top. At that point he added lots of good, sweet paprika and the chickpeas, cooked from dried if he had time or else canned. The soup simmered for another half hour or so to blend flavors and make sure any meat still on the bone fell off.
I think in our family of six, I was the only one who really loved chickpea soup as much as Poppi, and I was his helper all those years ago, which no doubt contributed to my passion for cooking. However, because I stopped eating beef many years ago, I created a vegetarian/vegan version of chickpea soup, adding chard and vegetable broth for flavor and nutrition.
Chard was hard to find when I was growing up in 1960s Denver, but was a favorite ingredient of the Jews in medieval Spain. They grew it in their gardens and often ate it raw or cooked with a drizzle of vinegar and sprinkle of salt. If you prefer, you can use fresh spinach.
Chickpeas were cultivated on the Iberian Peninsula at least since the Romans with chickpea soup dating back to biblical times. For the Jews of Spain, chickpeas were an important protein source, especially when slaughtering kosher meat was banned during the Inquisition and kosher butcher shop destroyed.
Paprika was added when the Spanish Jews, including my ancestors, found safe haven in the Ottoman Empire, where there was a lot of culinary sharing between the Sephardim and the Ottomans. For this soup, paprika is essential to the flavor, so use sweet, hot or a combination of both paprikas as long as you use really good quality. You could even add smoked paprika to your taste.
Healthy, easy, filling… this soup ticks a lot of boxes, but most importantly, making and eating it take me back to Sundays in the kitchen with my Poppi and the simple, yet fulfilling, flavors of onion, garlic, paprika and love.
Chickpea and Chard Soup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 bunch Swiss chard (about a 1 pound) or spinach, well washed
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups vegetable or chicken broth or water
2 tablespoons good, finely ground paprika (sweet, hot or a combination)
About 3 cups chickpeas cooked from dried or 2 15-ounce cans
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Heat oil in a soup pot on medium. Add onions, sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt, lower heat to medium low and sauté about 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned. While this cooks, remove the large stems from the clean chard or spinach and chop into about 1/2-inch pieces. Stir the chopped stems into the onions and let cook together several minutes. Tear or chop chard leaves into bite-sized pieces and set aside in a separate bowl.
Add the garlic to the onions and stems, cook about 2 minutes, stirring a few times as the garlic releases its flavor. Stir in the broth or water, cover, bring to boil, then turn down the heat and let simmer about 20 minutes until the stems are almost soft. Add the paprika, the chickpeas with the liquid from the cans and the chopped or torn chard leaves. Stir well, cover and let simmer 15 to 20 minutes until chard is soft and flavors blended. Stir well, taste and add salt and pepper to taste. This soup is good on its own or served with sprinkling of grated parmesan or another sharp hard cheese. Add a salad and crusty bread to make it a meal.
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