Andalusian Chickpea and Spinach Soup

Thanks to my father and his quest to always be healthy, as well as his professed love of the NYTimes, Chris and I have now added this fantastic recipe to our evening line up. It's ridiculously easy, and a great soup to make in under an hour. It's also very easy to modify. What follows is my slightly adapted more twenty-something version of the NYTimes actual recipe

Ingredients:
1 can of chickpeas (The real recipe wants dried and soaked chickpeas, which no one ever remembers to do in the middle of the week)
2 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced (or just get the good old store bought minced ones)
1 14 oz. can of chopped tomatoes, or 1 lb fresh chopped tomatoes. (I used TJs fire roasted tomatoes this time, which added great flavor)
2 tsp sweet paprika (really whatever paprika you can find. I go back and forth between smoked and sweet)
1 lb potatoes, diced (multicolored for me this time)
1/4 cup dry white wine (like a Pinot Grigio)
Salt to taste
Pinch of Saffron (adds good flavor but you could get away without it, TJs also has it for very cheap)
1 pound spinach, well washed (This is where Costco comes to the rescue!!)

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a soup pot. Add the onions and cook until tender about 5 minutes. You will need to stir these from time to time, but its a great thing to do while cutting your tomatoes and/or potatoes. Add 2 of your garlic cloves and cook until fragrant, roughly 30 seconds. Add your tomatoes, paprika, a big pinch of salt (a.k.a. 1/8 a teaspoon), and cook for 10-15 minutes. Stir it often so nothing sticks to the bottom. You want it to cook down to a really fragrant sauce.

2. Add the chickpeas and their liquid. Now remember with canned chickpeas you can drain them and rinse to get rid of some of the gas, or just add them with all their liquid. Also add your diced potatoes (the smaller the faster they cook!), wine, salt and pepper to taste, and 2 cups of water. Bring it all to a boil and cook until your potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

3. Stir in the remaining garlic, the saffron, and all your spinach. The spinach is easiest to do in batches as they cook down in size. Otherwise you'll have it flying all over the stove. Cook for another 5 minutes or until the spinach is tender. Season to taste with pepper and salt.

(Btw look at that beeeeeeautiful hard boiled egg!!)

Optional: Add some sausage or meatballs when you put the potatoes in, so they cook through. Serve with boiled eggs and toasted bread, as well as white wine vinegar for those who would like.

Enjoy!