Chickpea Soup with Spinach, Tomatoes, and Basil

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked at least 8 hours or overnight in cold water
• 6 cups homemade chicken stock or 4 cans chicken broth
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 6-8 cloves garlic, diced very small
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 can diced tomatoes with juice, 14.5 oz size
• 3-4 cups chopped baby spinach, measure before chopping
• 2-4 T chopped fresh basil
• Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cover the chickpeas with cold water and leave them to soak overnight, or for at least 8 hours. Pour off the soaking liquid, then look through the chickpeas and remove any skins that have slipped loose.
2. Transfer the chickpeas to a sturdy soup pot and add the homemade chicken stock. Bring the pot up to a boil, then turn the heat down and let it simmer until the chickpeas are tender. The timing will vary depending on the age of the dried chickpeas, but mine took about an hour. As the soup cooks, skim away any foam that rises to the surface with a spoon or skimmer.
3. Once the chickpeas are tender, warm the olive oil in a heavy frying pan. Add the onions and cook them for about 5 minutes, until they have softened nicely.
4. Stir in the garlic and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes.
5. Scrape the onions and garlic into the soup pot, then add the diced tomatoes with their juice.
6. Let the soup cook gently over low heat for about 30 minutes.
7. Add the chopped spinach to the pot, along with a little more water or chicken stock if the soup needs it, and continue simmering for 15-30 minutes.
8. At this stage, use an immersion blender to partially blend the soup so the ingredients break down just a bit. If you do not have one, transfer about 1/3 of the soup to a food processor or blender and pulse briefly a few times. You can also leave the soup as is if you prefer it chunkier.
9. Stir in the chopped basil and cook for 5 minutes.
10. Taste the soup, season it with salt and fresh ground black pepper, and serve it hot.