Spicy Mediterranean Chickpea Soup

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium sized onion
• 2 carrots
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp dried cilantro (coriander)
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp sweet smoked Spanish paprika
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1/4 tsp saffron threads
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce (or passata)
• sea salt
• freshly cracked black pepper
• 2 cans of 15 1/2 oz each drained chickpeas
• 3 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth or water)
• 1 bay leaf
• 100 g fresh spinach
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• chopped cilantro (or chopped parsley)