Spanish Bean Soup

Growing up in a city that has a HUGE Latin influence, I was able to enjoy a variety of different foods... One of my favorites is Spanish Bean Soup. There are versions of Spanish Bean soup in just about every Cuban or Spanish restaurant you go to, and they're all so good!

The best part is a big hunk of yummy bread to dip in the soup!

Here is my family's version of this famous soup!

Ingredients:
2 can garbanzo beans, drained
2 beef bouillon cubes
2 chicken bouillon cubes
4 cups low sodium chicken stock
4 cups water
1/4 pound of pepperoni, sliced thin and cut into quarters
1 onion, finely chopped
1 Spanish Sausage a.k.a Chorizo, sliced into thin rounds
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
1 can of diced tomatoes
1/4 head of cabbage sliced thin
Generous pinch of Saffron
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
Slowly brown the pepperoni and sausage in a separate saute pan. Once it starts to brown, add the onion and cook until soft. Bring chicken stock and water to a boil, add potatoes. When the potatoes are soft add the beans, meat & onion mixture, tomatoes, and bouillon cubes. Cook for 10 minutes. Add cabbage, saffron, salt, and pepper and cook for 45 minutes or so...can also be made in the crock pot. Enjoy! Don't forget the bread!

How the Columbia’s Spanish Bean Soup was created...
Casimiro Hernandez Senior founded Columbia Restaurant. in Tampa’s Historic Ybor City in 1905. He was of Spanish ancestry, and was very knowledgeable about Spanish cuisine. He took the classic cocido madrileno, a boiled Spanish equivalent of French pot-au-feu. Cocido was traditionally served in two steps, first the broth, then the main course of meats, garbanzo, and potatoes. He came up with the idea that all should be served together. That’s what became Spanish Bean Soup. It’s from Tampa. You cannot order Spanish Bean Soup in Spain. They don’t know what it is. Today Spanish Bean Soup is a favorite dish found in all six Columbia Restaurants located in Florida. This was created circa 1910.

Source: The Columbia Restaurant Spanish Cookbook, by Adela Hernandez Gonzmart and Ferdie Pacheco; 1995. University Press of Florida.