Soup

Ugh... This weather is awful. Whilst Ireland isn't known for its great summers, this rain is beyond a joke.


This is not enjoyable weather to cycle in, especially in June!



   

So, I have to admit, I wimped out and sheltered for a little while with my bike at a bus stop :(



 This has all moved me to making soup; not ideal of a June day, but needs must. I got the recipe below from Safe Food. It was part of a week of low-salt recipes or soups, I can't quite remember as it was in winter surprisingly enough! Anyway, it is gorgeous, healthy, quick and cheap to make.

Ingredients

• 1 tin chickpeas
• 1 Spanish onion, chopped roughly
• 2 red peppers, de-seeded and chopped roughly
• 1 red chilli
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1.5 pints vegetable stock
• 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan.
2. Add roughly chopped onion to the oil and fry it gently for 5 minutes. The pan should be hot enough to let the onion soften but not so hot that the onion starts to go brown.
3. Add the chopped red pepper and fry for 3 minutes.
4. Then add the chopped/crushed clove of garlic and as much red chilli as you like. Leave out the seeds unless you like things very hot! Fry for 2 minutes.
5. Add the coriander, turmeric and the cumin and fry for 1 minute. 
6. Drain the tin of chickpeas and add them and the vegetable stock to the pot.
7. Bring it all to the boil and then turn down the heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes, until the vegetables are tender, but not cooked to mush.
8. Liquidise the soup (you can use a hand-held blender or a normal liquidiser). 
9. Squeeze in lime juice - to personal taste.

I kind of cheated and bought vegetable stock instead of making it. I got one in the health shop that was suitable for vegans, vegetarians and coeliacs because I was originally making the soup for a sick coeliac. I find the stock VERY bland and now that I've used the last of it, I probably won't buy it again. I find a lot of the mainstream, shop-bought stocks very salty so if I get some, I will probably only use one tablet for the whole 1.5 pints. You can always add salt and\ or pepper to the soup towards the end if you feel you need it, though the spices in this dish negate them really.

I left out the coriander because I can't stand it. I didn't substitute anything for it and it was fine. I used more garlic and chilli than the recipe suggests though, because I love garlic and chilli. Chilli is great for warming you up and as it happens, it speeds the metabolism!

A good splash of lime really sets this soup off. It is also nice with a small spoonful of sour cream, a drizzle of regular cream, or if you're feeling mega-healthy - some skimmed milk of natural yogurt.

One last thing - don't blend it too much as it's nice thick and hearty! :-D

The end result! Yummy!!