#44 Chorizo, chickpeas and Swiss chard soup

You have to believe me, this Portuguese style soup deserves your attention!

It will bring the wonderful flavours of the Pyrenees right to your dinner table. It has everything and it’s perfectly balanced - the smokiness of the Chorizo, the earthiness of the chickpeas, the freshness of the chard... All you could add is a nice piece of crusty bread and a glass of Tempranillo. Just try it!

2 tbsp oil
200 g cooking chorizo sausage, sliced in 1 cm rings
1 red onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small bay leaf
¼ tsp hot paprika
½ can chopped tomatoes
250 g potatoes, peeled and diced in 1 cm cubes
1.5 l water
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried thyme
salt
black pepper
1 can cooked chickpeas, drained
2 handfuls of roughly chopped Swiss chard, cores removed.

In a deep pot, heat the oil and fry the chopped chorizo sausage for 2 minutes on each side.
Add the onion and continue cooking until it becomes translucent.
Add the garlic, bay and hot paprika, stir for 30 seconds.
Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the potatoes, herbs, salt and pepper, top with water. Once the water has come to the boil, lower the heat and cook on medium for 10 minutes.
Add the chickpeas. After 5 minutes, add the Swiss chard and simmer gently for another 5 minutes, or until the chard has wilted.
Serve hot with some nice, crusty bread.


Note: Don't be tempted to use dried and cured Chorizo sausage, it will dry way too much and be almost impossible to eat afterwards.
You could use kale or even spinach instead of Swiss chard.