Greek Chick Pea Soup-Revithada

It's that time of the year when it's cold outside, we never seem to feel warm enough, even inside the house and look for meals that give us that bowl of comfort and warmth.

Soups are a great antidote for the winter chills and today I made us a delicious, nutritious chick pea soup, or as the Greeks call it, Revithada.

It is inspired by the lemony, Greek chick pea soup that is made of the Greek Island of Sifnos. I've tweaked it a little by adding more vegetables bu,t for the most part, this is a very authentic, Greek meal.

The soup is easy enough to make. It just takes a little planning ahead, so you can soak the beans the night before you want to cook them. Also, you need two hours of simmering time before you can put a bowl in front of anyone, so do plan ahead.

I might say that this soup gets better by the day. So, if you want to make it ahead a day or two, so much the better!

Chickpea Soup From Sifnos (Ρεβιθάδα Σιφνέικη)

(Serves 6)

One pound of dry chick peas
1/2 cup of olive oil
2 large onions, diced
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced 2 carrot, finely diced
2 stalk of celery, finely diced

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 lemon, sliced

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
8 cups of chicken or vegetable stock or water
salt and pepper to taste
wedge of lemon and dried Greek oregano for garnish

1. The night before, place your dried chickpeas in a pot with enough water to cover the chickpeas by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil and turn off. The next morning, strain and rinse your chickpeas and reserve.
2. Into a large pot, add your olive oil over medium heat and throw in your onions, celery, carrots, bay leaf and paprika and simmer on medium low for about 15 minutes for the vegetables to soften.
3. Now add your chickpeas, parsley, stock or water and slices of lemon bring to a boil and simmer medium-low heat with the lid slightly ajar for 2 hours or until thick and the chickpeas are fork-tender. By this time you should have a thick, chunky chick pea soup with some liquid still evident.
4. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, serve in bowls. Add some chopped parsley, a drizzle of Greek extra virgin olive oil and serve with a wedge of lemon.
   
   
   Enjoy!
   
   
   Maria