Revithada: Greek Chickpea Soup from Sifnos

Revithada is a chickpea stew from the island of Sifnos, traditionally baked for hours on Sundays in a clay pot in a wood oven. With just chickpeas, onion, olive oil and lemon you get a silky, filling soup.

Serves: 6 | Prep: 10 min plus overnight soaking | Cook: 2 hours

Ingredients

  • 500 g dried chickpeas
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 onions, in thin rings
  • 100 ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp dried thyme or a sprig of rosemary
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Soak the chickpeas overnight in plenty of water with the baking soda. Rinse well.
  2. Heat the oven to 180°C.
  3. Put the chickpeas, onions, olive oil, bay leaves and thyme in a lidded ovenproof pot and add water to 3 cm above the chickpeas.
  4. Bake, covered, for 2 hours until the chickpeas are very soft and the liquid is creamy. Add water halfway if it gets too dry.
  5. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice and serve with bread.

Tips

  • Add salt only at the end; salt too early keeps chickpeas hard.
  • You can also cook it on the hob: simmer very gently for 1.5 to 2 hours.

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