Slow Cooker Spanish Inspired Garbanzo Soup

I had 2 cups of dried garbanzo beans that I was going to transform into hummus when family requested soup.  So soup it is.  Now here is a little tidbit about soaking dried beans.  There are 2 schools of thoughts on this.  Some like to soak beans overnight or do a quick soak which is 10 minutes in boiling water and then turn off heat and cover for 1 hour.  Or they just cook from dried beans.  I have grown up cooking without soaking.  Some say the soaking help make beans less gastro.  So it's up to you.  The following recipe I didn't soak.  If you do soak, just reduce the time to about 3 hours on high and 8 hours on low.  Chorizo is a beloved sausage of Spain/Cuba etc.  But it's always cured and dried.  Do not substitute for Mexican version of Chorizo, it's a complete different taste and texture.  Also, you can add Serrano ham to this in place of the ham seasoning.  The ham seasoning isn't of your typical american Ham but more of the Serrano flavor or the Country Ham which is very similar to it.  I included links to so you can see the pictures.

1 pound of cured chorizo*, sliced

2 cups of dried garbanzos, picked over and rinsed well

6 cups of water

1 rough chopped onion

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 can of chopped tomatoes OR add a fresh tomato, roughly chopped

1 bay leaf

1 tsp of oregano

1 tsp of onion powder

1/2 tap of garlic powder

1/2 tsp of cumin

1 packet of Sazon Goya con Azafaron*

1 packet of Country Ham Seasoning*

Juice of a lime OR a tbsp of vinegar

Salt/Pepper to taste

Toss all but the lime/vinegar into the crockpot.  Put it on low for 10-11 hours or on high for 5-6 hours.  Upon serving, add lime or vinegar to it, stir through and taste for salt/pepper.  Then serve with crusty breads on the side. 

Chorizo

Sazon Goya con Azafaron

Ham Seasoning