Zubereitung

1. 1

   The evening before, wash the chickpeas, cover them in a bowl with three times their volume of cold water and leave to soak overnight; they will swell to about twice their size.

2. 2

   Pour away the soaking water, rinse the chickpeas and bring them to the boil in a pot, well covered with fresh water. Skim off the foam and pre-cook the chickpeas over a low heat, partly covered, until almost tender.

3. 3

   Meanwhile, put on disposable gloves, as beetroot stains heavily, and ideally work on a plastic chopping board. Peel the beetroots and cut them into cubes of about 1 cm. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic.

4. 4

   Heat the oil in a large pot over a medium heat and sweat the onion in it until translucent. Add the garlic and tomato paste and toast briefly, stirring, until fragrant.

5. 5

   Drain the chickpeas and add them to the pot with the beetroot cubes, the water and the salt. Bring to the boil and simmer, partly covered, until the beetroot is soft and the chickpeas can easily be crushed between two fingers.

6. 6

   Wash the spinach, remove any tough stalks and roughly chop the leaves. Stir into the soup and simmer until wilted and dark green.

7. 7

   Squeeze the lemon and stir in the juice (or the pomegranate molasses). Rub the mint between your fingers and sprinkle it over, season the soup with salt and pepper to a sweet-and-sour balance and serve hot in deep bowls.

8. 8

   Tip: Instead of 150 g dried chickpeas you can use 330 g drained canned chickpeas; they then go into the soup together with the spinach. A spoonful of yogurt on top makes the soup milder, but it is then no longer vegan. Nanê sêlê — wafer-thin flatbread from the domed griddle goes well with it; the soup keeps for two to three days in the fridge.