I am amazed at how fickle the weather is here. Last week it was 70 degrees and I had my sandals on and now it’s chilly and windy and 55, but feels cooler because of the breeze.
I have been craving this wonderful thick soup I had on one of my trips to Greece; very simple, with chickpeas and lots of fresh lemon juice, Revithia as it’s known there is a satisfying and easy soup to make. It is more like a stew than a soup as there is very little liquid except the water that the chickpeas cook in. If you like a soupier version, simply add more water.
I prefer using dried chickpeas as they will hold up to the longer cooking time. Make sure you plan to soak them overnight after which there is literally nothing to do but add a few ingredients and let the chickpeas cook.
I would rather use Kalamata olives but didn’t have any on hand so I served them with green olives and a crusty loaf of bread.
Greek Chickpea Soup – Revithia
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 cups dried chick peas
1 red onion, diced
1 bay leaf
2 Tb. dried oregano
1/2 cup olive oil
Juice of one lemon, or more
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup Greek olives, pitted and roughly chopped
Procedure
- Soak the chickpeas in cold water to cover, overnight in a medium saucepan.
- Drain and return to the same saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Cook for about 15 minutes. Drain and return to the same saucepan. Cover the chickpeas with warm water. Add the onion, bay leaf, oregano and olive oil and bring to a simmer. Cover the pan and cook gently for one to one and a half hours or more, if you like your chickpeas softer continue to cook. Add salt, pepper to taste and lemon juice.
- Serve with the olives stirred in and more lemon juice, if desired.
