Ybor City Garbanzo Soup
Like many in my Moosewood cookbook, this recpie makes a hearty cold-weather soup. And, say: saffron is costly. I’d never used it before but knew of its legendary expense. The kind I bought was $2.49 for a half-gram pinch packed in a tiny plastic box. That works out to $2,258.89 per pound, if my math is correct.
Ybor City Garbanzo Soup
- 2 tablespoons canola or other vegetable oil
- 2 cups finely chopped onion
- 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
- a pinch of thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- a dash of cayenne (optional)
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 4 cups water
- 4 cups cubed potatoes (about 1 inch)
- 1 1/2 cups drained cooked garbanzo beans (15-ounce can)
- a generous pinch of saffron
- 2 tablespoons very hot water
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar or fresh lemon juice
- Combine the oil, onions and celery in a soup pot and sauté on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft and beginning to brown, about 15 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic, cumin, fennel, thyme, paprika, salt, black pepper and cayenne, if using. Add the bell peppers and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the water and the potatoes, cover and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
- When the potatoes are tender, add the garbanzo beans. Put the saffron threads in a cup and cover with the hot water. With the back of a spoon, crush the saffron against the side of the cup for about a minute. Add the saffron and water to the soup. Swirl some of the soup broth around the inside of the cup to get the bits of saffron out of the cup and into the soup. Stir in the vinegar or lemon juice.
- Serve immediately.