Garbanzo Bean Soup with Garlic, Sumac, Olive Oil, and Lemon

Ingredients

• 2 cups dried chickpeas
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups + 1 cup water
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 T minced garlic
• 1-2 large bay leaves
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste
• Olive oil, for drizzling on finished soup
• Powdered Sumac
• 1-2 lemons

Directions

1. For the crockpot version, add the dried beans to the slow cooker along with the chicken stock, 2 cups water, onion, garlic, bay leaves, cumin, salt, and pepper. Set it to low and cook for 7-8 hours, until the beans are tender all the way through. If the beans were soaked first, they may soften sooner, but a full day of gentle cooking is still fine if you are away.
2. After 7-8 hours, take a look at the liquid level and decide whether the soup needs more. I cooked it for 7 hours, stirred in 1 cup hot water, and let it go for 1 hour longer.
3. Once the beans are very soft, take out the bay leaves. Blend the soup with an immersion blender, or puree it in batches in a food processor or blender. If you are using a food processor or blender, do not fill it too high, because hot soup can splash over. Make it completely smooth, or stop while it still has a little texture.
4. Serve the soup hot, with olive oil drizzled over each bowl, a sprinkle of ground sumac, and fresh lemon juice squeezed on top.
5. For the stovetop version, combine the beans, chicken stock, 2 cups water, onion, garlic, bay leaves, cumin, salt, and pepper in a large soup pot. For this method, soaking the beans first is strongly recommended.
6. Bring the pot to a gentle simmer and cook until the beans are fully softened, checking about every 30 minutes and adding water when the pot needs it. The exact time depends on the age of the dried beans, so older beans may need 2-3 hours to become tender, even after soaking.
7. When the beans are soft, check the broth level before blending and add a little hot water if the soup looks too thick. The stovetop method will probably need at least twice as much water as the crockpot method.
8. Puree the soup, then serve it with olive oil, ground sumac, and lemon juice as described for the crockpot version.