Kale and Chickpea Soup with Lemon

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 banana shallots (or one onion)

1 stick of celery

2 stalks of rosemary

1 bay leaf

¼ tsp of chilli flakes

1 garlic clove, peeled

1 400g tin of chickpeas drained and throughly rinsed

200g bag of chopped kale

800ml hot stock (a cube or powder is fine – I used a combination of Marigold powder and vegetable stock)

Juice of half a lemon

Salt to taste

TO SERVE:

Paper thin lemon slices

Grated parmesan cheese (omit if vegan)

Toasted crusty bread (optional)

Preparation

Set a dutch oven or large saucepan over medium heat; pour in the olive oil.

Finely dice the shallots and add to the pan, stirring to coat with the oil.

Make 4 or 5 long horizontal slices in the celery stalk and dice. Add this to the pan and stir.

Finely chop the rosemary leaves and stir into the pan together with the bay leaf and the chilli flakes.

Peel the garlic clove and using the flat of your knife and the heel of your hand, crush so that it is still whole and add to pan.

Add the chickpeas and the kale and stir. Pour in the hot stock, let it come to a boil and turn down the heat.

Let it simmer for 20 minutes until the kale is tender. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon. Check the seasoning and adjust to taste. You might want more lemon or salt – it all depends on what you have used for the stock.

Working in batches or in the pan itself if you have a stick blender, blitz until you have the texture you like. I like mine to still have a few chickpeas and pieces of kale through it so I set aside a couple of ladlefuls and used a stick blender to blitz the rest.

Serve hot, floating a couple of slices of lemon on top of each serving and pass round the parmesan cheese for everyone to help themselves. Lovely with toasted crusty bread.

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About

A delicious, warm and filling soup, with a slight bite and a sharp edge. I don’t like using too many ingredients in a pureed vegetable soup as it muddies the flavour. I suppose you could swirl in a spoonful of creme fraiche or a little double cream but I don’t think it needs it. The blitzed chickpeas makes it quite creamy in any case. Any sort of white bean works here so you can substitute the chickpeas with cannellini, borlotti or butter beans if you prefer. This Kale and Chickpea Soup with Lemon is perfect to take to work in a flask or spill proof container to heat up in the microwave for lunch. Delicious, virtuous and thrifty!