Hearty Dinner Recipe: Spanish Bean Soup (Potaje de Garbanzos)

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 20 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 8 Servings

You may be thinking that a recipe for a thick, hearty soup is a bit odd considering that yesterday was the first day of spring. But this Spanish bean soup is not just any soup. Rather, it is a soup sent straight from the soup gods (if the soup gods took the form of my future mother-in-law).

Ingredients

1 pound dried garbanzo beans (chickpeas)8 ounces good-quality bacon or salt pork
chopped1 (6-8 ounce) leftover hambone or smoked ham hock8 ounces beef stew bones8 ounces Spanish chorizo
sliced1 small onion
chopped1 ripe tomato
chopped1/2 green bell pepper
chopped2 to 3 cloves garlic
minced1 bay leafChicken stock or water
to cover (or mix of both)Pinch of saffron threads3 medium potatoes
peeled and cubedKosher salt and pepper

Instructions

Wash garbanzo beans in cold water, discarding any beans with visible inperfections. Cover with 3 inches of salted water and soak overnight. Drain and rinse the beans thoroughly and set aside.
In a large Dutch oven, combine the bacon, hambone, beef bones, onion, tomato, green pepper, garlic, and bay leaf. Cover with two inches of chicken stock (or water) and bring to a boil, skimming off any foam as needed. Cover and lower heat to a gentle simmer.
Cook for 30 minutes, then add the reserved beans. Bring to a boil again, cover, and return to a simmer for another 30 minutes. Stir in the saffron and cook for an additional 30 minutes, or until the beans are tender but not overcooked. Remove the ham and beef bones, shredding and returning any meat left on the bones. (Tina scrapes out the marrow from the beef bones, as well. She said it melts in the soup like butter!)
Add the potatoes and season with salt. Cover and cook until the potatoes are cooked through, another 30 minutes. Season to taste.