Chickpea, Pumpkin & Spinach Soup - Sopa de Abobora, Grao e Espinafre

As winter draws to a close, I thought I'd get in the last of the winter soups.
This is one of my nephews favorite soups, the other one being Vietnamese chicken noodle soup.
When I tell him were having soup he asks eagerly if it's this soup.
This soup was made by my mother on a very regular basis.

Pumpkins are very popular in the Algarve, surprisingly though the Algarvians don't roast them like we do here in Australia, they are either used in soups, desserts( yes, desserts) or boiled with other vegetables & meat.
Chickpeas are also a staple throughout Portugal, & are usually an accompaniment with meat dishes.

A great soup for vegans.
I love the creaminess of the chickpeas, the sweetness of the pumpkin & the silkiness of the spinach.
I like using baby spinach, you can use English spinach as well. I like to use these two in the soup as the soup has a delicate quality which is a perfect matching for the type of spinach that's used.

Recipe ( Serves 8 )

•  2kg pumpkin, peeled, deseeded,chopped into chunks
• 2 onions,chopped
• 6 garlic cloves,minced
• 2 potatoes,peeled & cut into chunks
• 200ml olive oil
• 12 cups water
• 2 tab salt
• 375g chickpeas tinned
• 500g baby spinach

1. Peel & deseeded the pumpkin. Cutting the pumpkin into chunks.

2. Peel the onions & garlic & chop.

3. Peel the potatoes & cut into chunks.

4. In a large pot  heat the oil on medium heat, add the onions & garlic, saute with no colour.

5. Then add the pumpkin & potato, saute for 1 min.

6. Add the water & salt, turn up the heat on high  till it boils then turn down the heat & cook for 40 min.

 
7. Once the potatoes are cooked blend the soup with a hand blender.

8. After the soup is blended add the chickpea & cook a further 15min on low heat.

9. At this stage if the soup is a bit thin keep cooking to reduce the liquid, if it's too thick add a bit more water. 

10. Just before serving add the baby spinach.