Leek and chickpea soup

It’s so freezing outside that I thought I should share with you a soup recipe that has become one of my all-time favourites. I adore leeks and seeing as they are in season, now is an ideal time to whip this up. I really didn’t like the idea of chickpeas in soup at first – but although it only has a few ingredients, the flavour is amazing. I originally saw this made on a Jamie Oliver cooking show way back when. I’ve made it my own and no longer need the recipe to guide me. Everyone I have served it to has been impressed 🙂

So – introducing …

 Leek and Chickpea Soup

• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 4 leeks
• 3 desiree potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
• 2 cans of chickpeas, drained and well rinsed
  
• 1.5 – 2 litres of chicken stock
• Parmesan cheese (to serve, but optional)

Cut leeks down the middle, discarding the tough green part at the top, and clean thoroughly under running water. Chop fairly finely.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add leeks and a few good pinches of salt. The salt will not only add flavour, but allow the leeks to wilt, without colouring. This should take about five minutes over a medium heat – ensure you keep an eye on it and stir regularly.

Add the potatoes, along with the chickpeas and cook until heated through. Add stock at this point – enough to generously cover the mixture.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes, or until potato cubes are tender.

Remove from heat and using a stick mixer (or blender), blitz the ingredients, but leave some chunky bits.

Blitzing ensures the soup is beautiful and creamy, but leaving some chunky bits of chickpea and leek means there is really nice texture too. However, feel free to blitz to a smooth consistency if that’s what you prefer.

Bring back to the simmer – now you can judge whether more stock needs to be added. Just add more until the texture is to your liking. Make sure you have a taste and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Serve drizzled with some olive oil and shavings of parmesan cheese.

This soup really is a meal in a bowl and also makes a fantastic lunch. You can freeze it too, if you want – but I find this one disappears out of the fridge pretty quickly!

My Groovy Kitchen Tunes track for this warm, nutty soup would have to be Dark Storm, by The Jezebels. Its title is reflective of our weather here in Victoria at the moment, but there’s something warming and hopeful about it at the same time. Curl up on the couch tonight in front of the TV, pop a blanket over you and enjoy this soup and just think, the weekend is nearly here!! Sounds like a perfect Wednesday night to me 🙂

Chorizo and chickpea stew

This recipe is fabulous, not only because it’s a fast, quick and easy one-pot wonder, but it’s also bursting with flavour.

Chorizo is a priority ingredient in my cooking at the moment – I mean I love it – but Matt loves it more. He’s always wanting a risotto, but with chorizo in it. Then there’s pasta, with chorizo in it – even chorizo on homemade pizza. I think he was Spanish in a previous life!

The great thing about chorizo is that it’s a great way to inject instant flavour into a dish – it’s packed with paprika and other spices, and as you gently fry it in olive oil – you can see the oil turn red and beautiful.

That’s why this recipe works with so few ingredients – because the star of the dish is bursting with sumptuous flavour.

I have taken this one from Nigella’s latest book – Nigella Kitchen. I was very excited when it finally arrived from Amazon and after seeing her whip this up as part of the TV series, and because of Matt’s love for chorizo – I thought I’d make it the first recipe I’d try. Of course, I made a few changes – because I just can’t help myself.

Chorizo and Chickpea stew

 

Me looking like a goofy happy person with my new book

 

• 4tbs of olive oil
• 2 chorizo sausages, sliced into rounds (This is the centrepiece of the dish, so make sure you use a good quality one, I used Istra from the Daylesfod region of Victoria – their smallgoods are amazing!)
• 1 tsp ground cummin
•  1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
•  1 400gm tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
•  2 400gm cans of diced tomatoes (preferably organic)
•  1 cup of chicken stock (maybe a little more, if the consistency seems too dry)
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
• 1 handful of chopped, fresh coriander
• The juice of half a lemon
• A dollop of natural yogurt, to serve (optional)

Method:

Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan. Add the chorizo and cook until the oil start to turn redish. This means the sausage is releasing its flavours.

Add the cumin and stir for one minute. Raise the heat and add the red wine vinegar. Allow to cook for a minute or two, allowing the vinegar to reduce slightly.

Add the chickpeas, tomatoes and stock and bring to the boil. Reduce and leave to simmer for 5 minutes or so. Taste at this point for seasoning, and add salt and pepper to taste. If, at this point the dish is looking a little dry, add a little more chicken stock, or water.

Now, mix through the coriander and lemon juice and serve immediately.

To serve: I cooked some simple cous cous (I will share my best basic cous cous recipe with you tomorrow, so stay tuned for that) – and added a dollop of natural yogurt to each plate. This really adds another dimention to the overall flavours. This will serve 4 people.

This is quite different to Nigella’s recipe – she used sherry rather than red wine vinegar. I just didn’t have any on hand. She also put in some dried apricots when she added the tomatoes. However, I’m not a fan of dried fruit, so I left them out. But, you’re welcome to add them, if you like.

After watching the series and having a good look through the book – I can’t wait to try more of these recipes! I’ll let you know how I go 🙂

Be Inspired~

Lisa

Day 18: Leek and chickpea soup

Day 18 brings you one of my dad’s favourite soups.

I remember the first time I made it – I could tell he was a little bit unsure about the idea of a soup containing chickpeas. But, once he tasted it – he loved it – which makes me a very happy daughter 🙂

I can’t quite remember where I got the inspiration for this recipe. I just make it – no recipe required. It’s well and truly ingrained in my brain.

This soup makes a perfect lunch – and it’s terrific because the chickpeas make it really low GI. It’s filling and tasty and will ensure you don’t have one of those mad sugar cravings when 3pm rocks around.

Leek and chickpea soup

• 3 large leeks, cleaned and sliced
• 1 nob of butter
• 2 deseree potatoes – peeled and cut into cubes
• 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• Enough chicken stock to cover the ingredients (get the recipe to make your own here)
• Grated parmesan cheese to serve

Method:

In a large saucepan, melt the butter before adding the chopped leaks with a good pinch of salt. Cook the leeks over a low heat for about 10 minutes – but don’t allow them to colour. You want them to sweat and the salt will help to draw out the liquid in the leeks.

Add the potatoes and chickpeas and cover with enough chicken stock to cover everything. Cook until the potato is tender – about 10-15 minutes.

Blend using a stick mixer or spoon into your blender until the soup is smooth and creamy. If the soup is too thick at this point, thin down with a little more chicken stock. Don’t forget to taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve nice and hot with some parmesan cheese grated over the top.

This soup really is easy, incredible tasty and very fast to make. Hope you enjoy it.

Be Inspired~

Lisa

 

 

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