Chorizo, Spinach and Chickpea Soup

A bright but blustery Sunday morning has turned into a rather dark, threatening afternoon.  Icy plops of rain are falling and the bare birch trees across the road are swaying in an increasingly strong wind.  I don’t mind though.  Marco’s been walked and I’ve already been for a run.  There’s nothing I need do other than read my book (The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler), drink peppermint tea and make soup for the week ahead.   Nice.

Today’s soup will be a wintery minestrone (this one).  More often than not, however, I’ve been making the below soup.  It’s David’s current favourite.  He likes his soups hearty and, in this weather, so do I.

Chorizo, Spinach and Chickpea Soup

(Serves 6)

150g chorizo, skinned and chopped into small cubes

2 celery sticks, chopped finely

2 onions, chopped finely

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tspn smoked paprika

½ tspn cayenne pepper (optional – really not necessary if your paprika is spicy)

½ cup brown rice

400g tin of chickpeas, drained

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

500g frozen, chopped spinach (Whole leaf is fine too but it will need to be defrosted then chopped finely first.  Fresh spinach should be chopped finely first too.)

1.5 litres of stock (ham for preference but vegetable or chicken is fine too)

• Add a splash of olive oil to a large pan.  Throw in the chorizo and cook over a medium heat until the chorizo releases its fat.  Add the onion and celery and cook for a further 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the garlic and smoked paprika.  Cook for  a couple more minutes then add the chickpeas and brown rice.  Stir well.
• Finally, add the tomatoes, spinach and stock.  Simmer gently for an hour then taste for seasoning.  It’s unlikely to need salt but a grinding of pepper would be good.

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