Carrot and Chickpea Soup with Crunchy Masala Chickpeas

‘Tis the season to be jolly and to keep warm with home soup. Isn’t this how the saying goes?! ;) With temperatures plummeting here in England, the time has come to chop, boil, season and blitz those veggies. Here’s the perfect winter warmer for you: Carrot and Chickpea Soup with Crunchy Masala Chickpeas.

It wasn’t that long ago that I learnt how to cook, maybe seven or eight years ago. It seems crazy now, but there was a time when I first moved to London when I rarely cooked. The only things I knew how to prepare were pasta dishes and salads. And maybe scrambled eggs. Even something as easy as a soup was out of the question.

Then one day I tried making a soup, I think it was Leek and Potato, and the utter simplicity of the recipe hit me: this was something even I could make!

Since then, I have made soups for dinner (always dinner, never for lunch!) many times, whenever I feel cold or in need to boost my diet with a load of vegetables. Although, let’s be honest: my soups are always the rich and indulgent kind (never the low calorie, detoxing, low fat kind).

Because a dollop of cream in a bowl of soup is never a bad idea. And because soup should always be eaten with a chunky slice of toasted sourdough bread slathered with salted butter.

So I am not talking about a boring minestrone with floating peas and carrots or a clean eating chicken broth or a miso soup. What I talk about when I talk about soup is this: insanely delicious, creamy vegetable soup, blitzed until there is nothing left to process.

My soups are different, but always a variation of the same recipe. Sometimes I use coconut milk and single cream, depending on how I feel that day. I sautée the onions with extra virgin olive oil (I know I am not supposed to cook with it, but I do nonetheless). Add chopped vegetables (eg. potato, pumpkin, butternut squash, carrot, swede, parsnip, leek, spinach), stock and let it cook.

Then I blend the it until it’s creamy. And then I added crunchy bits to it, like croutons (homemade, if I’m feeling fancy) or spiced masala chickpeas.

Warning: the crunchy masala chickpeas are delicious and addictive. The risk of eating them all before the soup is served is high! Double the dose to be on the safe side and have a tasty snack to eat before dinner.

Ingredients

Serves 3.

For the soup

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 500g carrots, sliced
• 400ml coconut milk
• Knorr vegetable stock
• 1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• salt and pepper

For the crunchy chickpeas

• 1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp salt
• ground pepper
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper

To serve

• 150ml single cream
• 2 tbs toasted pumpkin seeds, to garnish
• crunchy chickpeas, to garnish

Preparation

Cook the onion, chilli flakes and olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the carrots and cook for a few minutes. Pour in the coconut milk and vegetable stock. Stir well and cook for ten minutes. Add the drained chickpeas. Stir for a few more minutes. Take the saucepan off the heat and blitz the soup into a purée using a food processor or blender.

Serve in bowls, with a dollop of cream and garnished with pumpkin seeds and crunchy chickpeas.

To make the crunchy chickpeas, preheat the oven to 200°C Fan and line a tray with baking paper. Put the chickpeas into a bowl and coat with the olive oil, salt, pepper and spices. Spread the chickpeas out on the lined oven tray. Roast for 15-17 minutes or until the chickpeas look crunchy.