Cuban Garbanzo Bean Soup (Sopa de Garbanzos)
THAT MISSING PIECE
I was raised between two separate households: my Italian mother’s, and my Cuban father’s. My time was spent primarily at my mom’s and with that side of the family, as my father’s family was mostly still in Cuba. Although, luckily for me, mom was not the only one who could cook. Whenever I would visit with my dad, he would nearly always make something Cuban. After I started cooking, I would call him and ask for his recipes. I would make these delicious meals, but it always seemed there was something missing. I could never figure it out, until I realized that on the side or poured on top and soaking into the rest of our meal was a bean soup. It was often red kidney beans, or black beans, but I loved the garbanzo soup the most. After I changed it and it became almost unrecognizable from the original recipe I received, it turned out to be my missing piece.
With the current pandemic of COVID-19, and yet the warm days of spring rolling in, I cannot think of a better dish: a hot, soothing soup that is still light enough for the changing seasons.
INGREDIENTS:
1-2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil, like EVOO (use a little less than enough to lightly coat the pan)
1 onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 cup white wine (I use whatever bottle is laying around, but avoid sweet wines)
2 cans (~15-16 oz.) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups beef broth
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
PREPARATION:
Start by heating up a large saucepan or medium sized-pot over medium to medium-low heat. We need it hot enough to sauté the sofrito-esque base we are making, but not so hot that it will burn the onion and garlic components.
While the vessel is heating up, get your mise-en-plas ready. “Mis-en-plas” refers to getting everything ready for the recipe - you want everything in its place and ready to throw into the dish as its time comes. So, prepare all ingredients in the proper measurements. Dice and mince the peppers, onions, garlic, etc.
Once the pot is hot and all of the ingredients are good to go, add your oil to the vessel. Follow the oil with the pepper and onion. Stay vigilant so they do not burn, and stir as needed to evenly cook them and prevent them from sticking to the bottom.
Once the onion and pepper are softened, add in the garlic, tomato paste, and oregano. If you would like, you can also add in some lightly chopped fresh cilantro at this point, although I don’t find it necessary in contributing a lot of flavor. At this point, you can start adding in some salt if you would like (a couple of pinches), as it will help draw some moisture out of the veggies and speed up the process. While constant stirring isn’t necessary, definitely stir relatively often to keep these components from burning. The goal here is to cook down the garlic and marry together all of the flavors that we have so far.
Once the mixture looks quite soft, we can add in the wine. Stand back when pouring it in, as there is always the chance of it igniting. Immediately after pouring it in, stir up the whole mixture to incorporate everything together. This will help lift all of the delicious little pieces of base that may be stuck to the pan.
From there, add in the beans, beef broth, and bay leaf. Raise the heat up to bring the soup to a boil, then reduce it so that it remains at a gentle simmer, and finally, cover it and let it simmer away for about twenty minutes.
Add salt and pepper, to taste. Buen provecho.
Sopa de Garbanzos with brown rice
Serving suggestions:
To make this soup a quick, basic meal, serve it over your favorite rice. My favorite is from the ‘Texmati’ brand, Rice Select, and it’s called Royal Blend - a mixture of Texmati white, brown, wild, and red. Of course, medium-grain white rice is the classic for Cuban cuisine. Because of the soup’s flavor profile, it goes really well with many Caribbean and Mediterranean meals, so be creative. Try it with your favorite meal and leave a comment with your thoughts!