Spanish Chickpea and Eggplant Soup with Smoked Paprika Recipe
This thick chickpea and eggplant soup smells of smoked paprika and olive oil, as if it had just come off the stove in a small Spanish tavern. In Spain, similar one-pot dishes are often eaten on cooler days, when you need to warm up after work. The flavors are like a cross between a vegetable stew and a creamy soup – filling but not heavy.
A simple, rustic one-pot soup that brings the flavors of Spanish taverns into your kitchen: creamy chickpeas, silky eggplant and deep smokiness from paprika, all in a light yet satisfying broth.
Chef's tips
Use good-quality smoked paprika – it makes all the difference here. If your stock is salty, season with salt only at the very end. The soup tastes even better the next day, when the flavors have had time to develop.
How to serve
Serve in warm bowls with extra olive oil drizzled on top and a little freshly ground black pepper. Add crusty bread, rice or even cooked barley to make it more filling. A simple green salad with lemon dressing is a great fresh side.
Ingredients
- chickpeas - 400 g
- eggplant - 1 piece
- onion - 1 piece
- carrot - 1 piece
- celery stalk - 1 stalk
- garlic - 3 cloves
- tomatoes - 400 g
- vegetable stock - 800 ml
- smoked paprika - 2 teaspoons
- bay leaf - 2 pieces
- olive oil - 3 tablespoons
- salt
- black pepper
- parsley finely chopped - 2 tablespoons
Preparation
- Wash the eggplant, trim the ends and cut into cubes of about 1.5 cm. Lightly salt, toss and set aside for 10 minutes until it releases some juice.
- Peel the onion and dice finely. Peel the carrot and cut into thin half-moons. Wash the celery stalk and slice it thinly.
- Peel the garlic and chop finely. Drain the canned chickpeas and rinse in a sieve under running water.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery. Sauté for 5–7 minutes, stirring often, until the vegetables soften and become slightly translucent but do not brown.
- Add the garlic and smoked paprika, stirring for about 30 seconds until you smell the intense aroma of the spices; be careful not to burn the garlic.
- Add the canned tomatoes, bay leaves and vegetable stock. Stir, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, rinse the salt off the eggplant under running water and pat dry with paper towels.
- In a separate pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant and fry for 8–10 minutes, stirring often, until the cubes soften and are lightly browned.
- Transfer the fried eggplant to the pot with the soup, add the chickpeas, stir and cook together for another 10–12 minutes, until the flavors meld and the soup thickens slightly.
- Remove the bay leaves and season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. If you like, you can lightly blend the soup with an immersion blender, pulsing 2–3 times so that some of the vegetables break down but there are still visible pieces.
- Sprinkle the soup with chopped parsley just before serving and serve immediately.
Storage
No storage information available for this dish.
This soup was inspired by simple lunches in small Spanish bars, where a bowl of something warm and comforting is often the whole meal. It’s perfect for batch cooking and easy to adapt to what you have in the pantry.
