Revithosoupa, Greek Chickpea Soup
Revithosoupa is Sunday food on islands like Sifnos, where soaked chickpeas were once carried to the village baker to cook slowly in a clay pot in the cooling wood oven. It is a deliberately plain soup, chickpeas and onion and not much else, which is exactly why it depends on two things: cooking the beans until they are truly soft, and finishing with far more lemon than seems reasonable. Pureeing part of the pot and stirring it back is the traditional way to thicken it without cream or flour. Made this way it is filling, high in fiber and plant protein, and costs very little. Dried chickpeas soaked overnight give the best texture, though a night's planning is the price.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Chickpeas, dried, soaked overnight
- 1 Yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 Carrots, diced
- 2 stalks Celery, diced
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 sprig Rosemary
- 1 Bay leave
- 1 tbsp no-salt vegetable bouillon
- 3 tbsp Lemon juice, fresh
- 1/4 cup Flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
Method
- Drain the soaked chickpeas and simmer them in 7 cups (1.7 L) fresh water with the bay leaf, skimming off the foam that rises in the first few minutes. Skimming keeps the broth clean, and starting the beans in unsalted water lets them cook to true tenderness, which salt would slow.
- After about 45 minutes, when the chickpeas are starting to soften, add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, rosemary, and bouillon. Adding the aromatics partway in, rather than at the start, keeps their flavor fresh in a long simmer instead of boiling it away.
- Keep simmering another 30 to 40 minutes until the chickpeas are completely soft and creamy inside. Underdone chickpeas are the usual fault in this soup, so cook them until one squashes to nothing between your fingers.
- Scoop out about two cups of the soup and mash or blend it, then stir it back in. This is how the islanders thicken revithosoupa: the pureed portion gives it body while the rest stays whole, so it turns velvety with no flour or cream.
- Take it off the heat and stir in the lemon juice, parsley, and black pepper. The lemon goes in at the very end and in quantity, because acid is what makes this spare soup taste finished, standing in for the salt it does without. Fish out the rosemary sprig and bay leaf before serving.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 190 calories, 9 g protein, 8 g fiber, 55 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
