Chickpea and Mushroom Soup with Vegetables

Not only is this soup sim­ple to assem­ble, it’s nutri­tious, requires very lit­tle cook­ing time, and it’s beau­ti­ful. For a deli­cious meal, serve with a hearty loaf of bread. (Makes 6 servings)

Ingredients:

2 table­spoons olive oil
3 gar­lic cloves, sliced
1-½ cups sliced fresh mushrooms
2 cups chicken broth
1 can (14 ounces) chick­peas (gar­banzo beans)
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed
Salt and pep­per, to taste
Feta cheese, crumbled
Kala­mata black olives, pit­ted

Directions:

In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat and sauté gar­lic and mush­rooms. Cook, stir­ring fre­quently, until mush­rooms are ten­der, about 3-5 min­utes. Add chicken broth, chick­peas, toma­toes and spinach. Cover, raise the tem­per­a­ture a notch, bring soup to a boil, and then reduce heat to sim­mer. Sea­son the soup with salt and pep­per. Ladle soup into bowls. Serve imme­di­ately and pass the feta cheese and black olives to your guests.

— From Tast­ing the Sea­sons by Kerry Dun­ning­ton