Oaxacan Chickpea Soup (Sopa de Garbanzo)

At Origen restaurant in Oaxaca, chef Rodolfo Castellanos taught us how to make sopa de garbanzo. His version of the soup is light, smooth and velvety but doesn’t require a blender because he uses chickpea flour, not whole chickpeas. The key to developing rich, nutty notes and earthy complexity is toasting the flour to the color of peanut butter. We found the easiest way to do this is to start in the oven, where the heat is even and all-encompassing, then finish on the stovetop in the pot in which the soup is simmered. Bob’s Red Mill is probably the most widely available brand of chickpea flour in supermarkets. In South Asian grocery stores, chickpea flour is labeled “besan”; the grind is finer than Bob’s but besan works well in the recipe. We follow Castellanos’ lead and embellish the soup with poached eggs, making it substantial enough for a light main. Mint and ground chipotle chili bring freshness and spice.