Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Soup

By bakers_delight85

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 large onion, cut into medium dice
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. sweet paprika
• 1 cup canned chopped tomatoes
• 3 (15 ounce) cans chickpeas, drained
• 1 quart reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 tsp. sugar
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 (2 1/2 ounce) package prewashed baby spinach

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onion and garlic until the onion begins to turn translucent; lower the heat if browning starts to occur. Add the spices and saute a minute or so. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, stock, sugar, a couple of pinches of salt, and 10 grinds of fresh pepper. Stir well. The chickpeas should be just covered with liquid. If the level is shy, add some water so the chickpeas are just covered. Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat to low and gently simmer 45 minutes to an hour. Stir in the butter. Remove the soup from the heat. Use a potato masher to mash up some of the chickpeas right in the pot. Stir in the spinach until wilted, just a couple of minutes. Season again to taste with salt and pepper.
Portion the soup into bowls and drizzle lightly with extra-virgin olive oil.