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+ servings
Two blue bowls with chickpea soup, pieces of bread and lemons.
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Greek Lemon chickpea soup

This delicious Greek lemon chickpea soup is so easy to make. It is creamy, lemony, and a perfect comfort soup with few ingredients.
Course Soup
Cuisine Cretan, Greek
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Chickpeas soaking time 6 hours
Servings 6 servings
Calories 302kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 lb chickpeas garbanzo beans
  • 1 red onion diced
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tbsp dry oregano
  • salt
  • fresh ground pepper

for finishing the soup

  • juice from 1- 2 lemons
  • 1 cup soup broth
  • 2 tbsp all purpose flour

Instructions

  • Soak the chickpeas in plenty of water overnight.
  • Put them in a large pot cover with water and bring them to a boil. Drain and add them back to the pot. Repeat the same process 2-3 times until they are half cooked. About 20 min each time. Drain chickpeas well and set aside.
  • In the same pot, in medium heat, add the olive oil and the the onion.
  • Sauté onion until it’s transparent and fragrant. Add the chickpeas, oregano and the bay leaves.
  • Sauté everything for a 2-3 minutes then add water to cover chickpeas plus 2 inches.
  • Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cook for about an hour or more if needed until they are tender. Shortly before chickpeas are cooked season with salt and pepper.
  • In a bowl add the lemon juice and stir in the flour with a whisk.
  • Slowly start adding a little of the soup broth. Keep stirring vigorously. Pour into the soup and mix well.
  • Serve hot with smoked herring and onion slices. Don’t forget the crusty bread.

Notes

You can tune up or down the lemon, depending on how juicy and potent the lemons are. If more acidity is needed, gradually add more fresh lemon juice until you reach your preference.
This is a versatile chickpea soup recipe. Additionally, you can add some thyme, a teaspoon of ground cumin, and coriander, and serve with chili flakes, chopped dill, or chives.
You might have to adjust the cooking time depending on the chickpeas you use. For example, greek chickpeas cooked quicker than the ones I found in my grocery store. I had to add 30 minutes or so of cooking time. You want your chickpeas to be soft and on the verge of being "mushy" - in a good way. 
Gluten-free option without flour. Instead of using flour and broth to thicken the soup, you can transfer one ladle of chickpeas and a ladle of broth to a blender and pulse until smooth—return liquid to the stockpot and stir. Add lemon juice, and season with sea salt and pepper.
 
Nutritional Info – Please remember that the nutritional information provided is only estimated and can vary based on the products used.

Nutrition

Calories: 302kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 7mg | Potassium: 257mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 35IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 3mg