No soup for me!

Well I decided to start with a few soup recipes as we are having soup  at least 5 times a week and were getting a bit fed up with the same soup every other day.

It is always good to make extra quantites so you can freeze in individual portions for quick meal.

The first is my sons favourite soup of the moment which was adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe.

I like to puree this soup but you can decide if you want to leave it chunky or even puree half and leave the other half whole.
                                                                     

                                                                             

                                                                                

Leek and Chickpea Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 x 410g cans of chickpeas

3 medium leeks

1 tblsp extra virgin olive oil

2 clove of garlic finely sliced

1 x 9cm piece of kombu*

850ml chicken or vegetable stock

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Soak kombu in hot water for 15 mins to soften. Remove the outer skin of the leeks, slice lengthways from root up, wash carefully and slice thinly.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large pan, add the leeks and garlic and sweat gently until leeks are soft and tender. Do not allow leeks to brown.

3. Add the drained chickpeas and cook for 1 minute. Cut kombu into small pieces and add to pan with about two-thirds of the stock and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Place in a processor and either blend to a puree or puree half and leave half whole.

5. Return to pan and add remaining stock to achieve the consistency you like and seasoning to taste.

6. Serve with a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a grind of pepper.

* Kombu is a seaweed which is a member of the kelp family,it is a versatile pantry ingredient that provides dishes with flavour, nutrients and minerals.  Dried kombu can be used to make broth, added to beans to make them more digestible and eaten in salads. 

   

Pumpkin and Spinach Soup

My next recipe is a pumpkin and spinach soup which has a gentle hint of toasted cumin, if you would like a more robust flavour you can grind the cumin seeds after toasting or even add some ground corriander and chilli.

Serve with just a sprinkle of chilli flakes and some fresh corriander.... yummy!

                                                                    

Pumpkin and Spinach

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 x medium butternut pumpkin

200g of baby spinach (washed)

1 x onion chopped

2 x cloves of garlic

2 tsps cumin seeds

600ml vegtable stock

extra virgin olive oil

salt & pepper

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.

2. Cut pumpkin in half length ways, remove seeds then cut each half into 4 again length ways and place on a baking tray with a drizzle of olive oil. Place in oven to bake for approx 40 mins or until pumpkin is very soft.

3. Toast cumin seeds in a pan until lightly browned and fragrant, add 2 tblsp of olive oil to pan hen add onion and garlic and saute until soft.

4. Scoop pumpkin flesh from skin and add to the onions with half the stock, cook for 1min then add spinach and cook until wilted.

5. Blend ingredients until smooth, return to pan and add remaining stock and seasoning, and warm through. Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of chilli flakes.