Printable Recipe: Creamy Garbanzo Soup with Herbes de Provence

Creamy Garbanzo Soup with Herbes de Provence

A lot of people don't think of soup as a party appetizer... but it can be a great one! This recipe works well as a first course. But it's also a great appetizer idea when served in little espresso cups with little spoons, or in shot glasses. When served the right way, "soup shots" make great make ahead appetizers. Just prepare the soup the morning of, and warm it up when it's time to eat. Pretty simple, right?

Serve this as a first course garnished with any combination of: chopped cilantro or parsley, creme fraiche or sour cream, chopped roasted peppers, chopped black olive, sliced jalapeños, bacon crumbles, and chopped tomatoes. Or serve plain in a shot glass. Or set up a little "soup bar," complete with a tureen of this soup, little espresso cups, and a variety of the garnishes mentioned here for your guests to choose from. Warm, elegant, and a lot of fun!

Ingredients:
3 tbsp. olive oil
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 med. white onions, chopped fine
3 Serrano chilies, unseeded and chopped
1 head garlic, cloves peeled and sliced
3/4 C. celery, chopped fine
6 (15 oz.) cans garbanzo beans, drained
3 tbsp. ground cumin
3 tbsp. herbes de provence
3 tbsp. onion salt
3 tbsp. freshly ground white or black pepper
salt, to taste (if needed)
2 - 3 tbsp. lemon juice, or to taste
1/3 C. cream sherry, or to taste (or plain dry sherry)
1/2 C. heavy cream, or to taste
2 - 3 quarts chicken broth, as needed

Instructions: 1. In a large soup pot, melt butter into olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, chilis, garlic, and celery. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

2. Add drained garbanzo beans. Cook, stirring, on medium heat, about 5 minutes, until veggies and beans are tender.

3. Add cumin, herbes de provence, onion salt, and pepper. Cook on low about 10 minutes more, til contents of pot are fragrant and somewhat carmaelized.

4. If using a traditional blender, cover pot and allow to cool about 10 minutes before blending. If using a stick blender, you can blend right away. (A stick blender works best, allowing you to blend all at once instead of in batches.)

5. Blend mixture until very smooth. It will be very thick. Add chicken broth a bit at a time until you get your desired consistency (if serving soup shots without spoons, you'll want a thinner soup). Taste for salt and add more if necessary. Pulse in the blender (or with immersion blender) after each addition of broth.

6. At this point, the soup can be refrigerated until you're ready to serve your make ahead appetizers.

7. To serve, heat soup to a low simmer. Add cream sherry. Add heavy cream. Heat through, and serve as desired.