Columbia Restaurant ★ 4.5
Columbia in Ybor City has plated 1905 Salad, paella and Spanish-Cuban classics since 1905, Florida's oldest restaurant under five Gonzmart family generations.
History
Spanish bean soup is the Sunday-dinner classic that the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City has served since 1905. The Asturian-Spanish recipe combines garbanzo beans, smoked chorizo, ham hock, potato and saffron in a clear broth, served as a starter or a meal. Cuban diners across Tampa now run the same soup. The Columbia plates over 5,000 bowls a week between its six Florida locations.
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 400g dried garbanzo beans (chickpeas), soaked overnight
- 1 ham hock (or 200g pork shoulder)
- 200g Spanish chorizo, sliced into rounds
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 medium potatoes, diced
- 1 tsp saffron threads
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 liters chicken stock or water
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- Olive oil for sauteing
Method
- Drain soaked garbanzo beans. Put in a large pot with the ham hock and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer; skim foam.
- Cook 1.5 hours until garbanzos are tender. Remove ham hock, shred meat, return to pot, discard bones.
- Heat olive oil in a separate pan. Saute onion until soft, add garlic, paprika and saffron. Add to the soup pot.
- Add diced potatoes and sliced chorizo. Simmer 30 minutes until potatoes are tender.
- Taste, adjust salt and pepper. Serve hot in bowls with Cuban bread on the side.
Tip from the editors. The saffron is essential to the Spanish version; don't skip it. If garbanzo beans are still firm after 1.5 hours of cooking, add a pinch of baking soda.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Where to eat spanish bean soup (garbanzo)
Spanish bean soup (Garbanzo) in Tampa
La Teresita ★ 4.5
La Teresita on Columbus Drive has run a Cuban counter and dining room in West Tampa since 1972, owned by the Capdevila family across two generations.
Order: Palomilla steak with yellow rice and black beans.
Tip: The counter side runs 6am to midnight Friday and Saturday; the dining room takes reservations next door.
Cafe Don Jose ★ 4.4
Cafe Don Jose on West Columbus Drive runs a working-class Cuban counter with cafecito, pastelitos and Cuban breakfast plates for the West Tampa crowd.
Signature drink: Cafe con leche
More cities are in research. Want spanish bean soup (garbanzo) covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.