Chickpea Minestrone Soup
With the warmer months behind us and the cooler weather setting in, there is nothing better than a nice hearty bowl of soup to warm you from the inside out. The recipe below came together after pulling out of the fridge the bits and pieces that I had. It is a great basis for a vegetable soup that can be changed and altered to suit whatever vegetables you have on hand. I personally like to add some chilli flakes for that extra pow!
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 leek, sliced and washed
3 celery stalks, diced
2 zucchini, diced
½ cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 tin diced tomatoes
1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon cumin
500ml vegetable stock
100g baby spinach leaves
Method:
Heat olive oil in heavy based saucepan.
Add leek and celery and sauté for approximately 5 minutes.
Add the remainder of the vegetables, seasoning, diced tomatoes and chickpeas and toss well.
Pour in vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer for approximately 30 minutes until the vegetables are soft and tender.
Add spinach leaves and simmer for a further 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and serve.
Can be served with toasted bread.
Serves 4-6
