Spanish Chickpea Soup

Total Time: 2 hrs 20 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 8 ounces dried garbanzo beans
• 4 1/2 ounces chorizo sausage, cut into bite-size chunks
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 onion
• 4 -5 whole cloves
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon oil
• sliced almonds, toasted
• single cream

Recipe

• 1 soak the chickpeas on a bowl of water overnight, rinse and drain. you can used tinned chickpeas to skip this step, in which case just drain and rinse.
• 2 heat the oil in a soup pan, fry the chunks of chorizo until beginning to crisp before adding the chickpeas and cooking for a further 3-4 minutes, stirring.
• 3 stud the onion with the whole cloves and add to the mixture in the pan along with the garlic and coriander.
• 4 pour enough water over to cover ingredients with about ¼ inch to spare, cover with pan lid and simmer for 2 hours, checking every now and then to make sure water doesn't evaporate and adding more if needed.
• 5 remove the clove studded onion and season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
• 6 blend half the soup mixture until smooth, adding more water if necessary, then return to the pot, give a good mix and reheat.
• 7 whilst reheating, toast some almond flakes until lightly brown under the grill.
• 8 serve with a swirl of cream on the top and a sprinkling of the toasted, flaked almonds.