Slowcooker Chickpea Smoked Ham and Kale Soup

Ingredients

1 pound dry chickpeas
6 cups of water
1 large onion, quartered
3 carrots, peeled and quartered
4 stalks celery, cut into generous bite sizes
1 smoked ham hock
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp kosher salt, or 1/2 teaspoon regular salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, optional
1/4 cup olive oil
Bunch of kale, any variety or other hearty greens
Juice of 1 lemon

Directions

Add dry chickpeas, water, olive oil, onion, carrots, celery, ham hock and spices to crockpot. Set on high and cook 5-6 hours.

After 5 hours, check your chickpeas for doneness. Don’t stress if they aren’t done, they might take closer to 6 hours to cook.

When the beans at to your preference, scoop out a large cup of them along with the onion pieces, carrot and some of the cooking liquid. Puree in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Remove the ham hock and pick off the meat, discarding the skin, fat and cartilage. Add the puree, ham and kale back to soup and let cook another 10 minutes. Add lemon juice and serve.