Chorizo, Spinach and Chickpea Soup

I’ve been making this hearty and warming soup literally for years. Spicy smoked chorizo gives it a wonderful rich flavour (a little goes a long way) which immediately transports you to Spain and its delightful, comfort and frugal home cooking.

I love to serve this soup with some eggs, either freshly boiled and cut into smaller segments, added as a part of the garnish or, boil the cracked opened raw eggs in the simmering soup towards the end of cooking.

If available, roughly chop a few thin slices of Serrano ham (or any other Spanish ham depending on the budget) and decorate the soup with it moments before serving.

Serves 6:

• 200-220 g of chorizo sausage (it can also be of a spicy variety), cubed
• 600-700 g of cleaned fresh spinach leaves
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3-4 celery sticks, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• a tin of peeled tomatoes
• 1 tin of chickpeas, drained
• 1.2 – 1.5 l of chicken stock
• a few pinches of pimientón dulce and/or pimientón picante (sweet smoked and hot paprika respectively)
• a dash of red wine vinegar or a squeeze of lemon juice
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil
• eggs*, 1-2 per person, boiled as you like them
• some freshly chopped parsley leaves to garnish
• chopped sliced Serrano ham (optional)

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot and add the chorizo. Let the sausage cook for a few minutes, until the fat comes out from the chorizo.

Add the chopped onion, celery and garlic. Cook everything on a lower heat for about 5-8 minutes seasoning it with some salt. Put the lid on and carry on cooking the soup base for a further 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Now add the spinach leaves, the tinned tomatoes (you can chop them if you like), the chickpeas and pour in the stock.

Give everything a gentle stir, season with some salt and the pimientón (be careful with the spicy one, you can always add more later on), bring to a soft boil and cook the soup covered with the lid for around 40 minutes (stirring it from time to time).

Take the lid off, taste the soup and season again with some salt, pepper and pimientón. Add a dash of the red wine vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice and cook the soup for a further 5 minutes.

To serve:

Pour the soup into individual soup plates or bowls, cut the boiled eggs into smaller segments (you could also just simply chop them) and arrange them neatly on top, finish everything with a drizzle of olive oil and some freshly chopped parsley leaves (and ham if using).

*Alternatively, instead of boiling the eggs, you can gently crack them open into the soup immersing them slightly and cook all together until they set.