Chickpea Soup with Saffron, Yogurt, and Garlic

I'm so excited it is the end of the week (Thursday is my Friday), I have been so exhausted all week and just want to sleep in and eat foods.  In other news there is a new restaurant opening up in PDX, it is a sushi-style cheese bar called Chizu and it looks awesome.  It is opening next week and is very small so I'm sure it will be packed but it is something I must check out due to my passion for cheese. I also just signed up for an accounting class at PCC, it will be interesting being in school again since I haven't been in 4 years. It is sunny again and all I want is our rain back that we had yesterday which inspired me to make and adapt this delicious soup.  This is a lovely vegetarian Middle Eastern soup, enjoy!

Serves 4

The Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
Fine-grain sea salt
3 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 1/2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads (2 modest pinches)
3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 cup plain yogurt (Greek or regular)
Sweet paprika
Small bunch fresh cilantro, chopped


The Process
1.  In a medium-large pot over medium-high heat, combine the olive oil, onion, and a couple of big pinches of salt. Cook until the onions soften up a bit, a few minutes.

2.  Stir in the chickpeas, and then add the vegetable broth and garlic. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat.

3.  In a medium bowl, whisk the saffron and egg yolks, then whisk in the yogurt. Slowly add a big ladleful, at least 1 cup, of the hot broth to the yogurt mixture, stirring constantly. Very slowly whisk this mixture back into the pot of soup.

4.  Return the pot to medium heat and cook, stirring continuously for another 5 minutes or so, until the broth thickens to the consistency of heavy cream, never quite allowing broth to simmer. Ladle into individual bowls and serve sprinkled with a touch of paprika and plenty of chopped cilantro