Chickpea Sofrito Soup with Sausage

It's amazing how much flavor is in this chickpea sofrito soup with sausage and spinach with just a handful of ingredients. It's a comforting and nutritious bowl that will keep you satisfied!

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• Watch how to make this
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• Ingredients
• Substitutions and variations
• Step-by-step instructions
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Watch how to make this

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Ingredients

• Portuguese sausage: Also known as linguica, Portuguese sausage is a smoked sausage made from pork seasoned with garlic and paprika.
• Canned diced tomatoes: The tomatoes are a key ingredient in the sofrito. You can substitute canned diced tomatoes with an equal amount of fresh diced tomatoes. Alternatively, you can use canned crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce, adjusting the quantity based on the desired texture.
• Smoked paprika: A spice made from dried, smoked red peppers with a smoky flavor. If you can't find smoked paprika, you can use regular paprika instead.
• Chickpeas: The beans are an extra source of protein, adding heartiness to the soup.
• Spinach: The leafy green vegetable with a mild, slightly sweet flavor, balances the rich sausage.

Substitutions and variations

• Vegetables: You can substitute chickpeas with other beans such as kidney beans or pinto beans. You can also use kale, swiss chard, collard greens, or any other type of leafy green vegetable.
• Protein: You can use other types of smoked sausage such as chorizo, kielbasa, or Andouille sausage, however, the result will differ according to how the sausage is seasoned.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Cook sausage

Let's start preparing the soup by cooking the protein, sausage. Portuguese sausages are typically smoked and cured, making them incredibly flavorful. However, they also have a high amount of fat. So, we're going to first sear the sausage to render some of the fat.

Once the sliced sausage darkens slightly in color, drain all but one tablespoon of oil. We don't want all the fat in the soup, just enough to flavor the broth.

Step 2: Add vegetables

Next, add the chopped onion, bell pepper, and garlic to the large pot. Once softened, add the canned diced tomatoes along with smoked paprika, bay leaf, and fresh thyme.

Unlike other soups, you want the onions, tomatoes, peppers, and garlic to break down before adding the liquids. The idea is to create a sofrito, a Spanish tomato sauce often used as a base for many dishes. At the restaurant where I used to work, we used our homemade sofrito for a clam and chorizo dish. The depth of the sauce adds much flavor to any dish, so I thought, "Why not add it to a soup?"

Normally, sofrito takes a long time to cook, but we're going the quick route and simmering the sofrito for 20 minutes. Since we're incorporating Portuguese sausage, the vegetables will absorb the flavors and become rich in depth in a short amount of time.

Step 3: Simmer

Now that we've developed the base, it's time to turn it into a soup. Add chicken broth and chickpeas and let the soup simmer for about 15 minutes.

Finish the soup by adding fresh spinach and letting it cook until wilted. You can also use kale, Swiss chard, or any other type of leafy green.

Give the soup a final seasoning adjustment with salt and pepper before serving. Normally, I always season my soups as they cook. However, since the saltiness of your sausage varies according to the brand, I like to season it at the end.

The smell alone of this chickpea sofrito soup was enough to warm me up! The rich aroma from the spiced sausage to the sweet spinach and hearty chickpeas comes together to create one amazing soup. I would gladly enough this year-round!

Make-ahead and storage

• Make-ahead: Like all soups, this soup tastes better the next day, so you can prepare it the day before.
• Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Frequently asked questions

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