Chorizo, Chickpea and Lemon Tomato Soup | Food

I've been at it again! Adapting recipes, this evening for dinner. Originally from Rachel Khoo's Kitchen Notebook, and vegetarian before I got my hands on it... 

Originally intended for a starter I served this with lightly toasted ciabatta and in a slightly larger portion to make into a homely main course. As for adaptations I added a little more cream, so as a cream of tomato soup was made as oppose to a more tomato puree based one. I also used a meat based stock cube and added some cooked chorizo for a meatier twist. The crunchy chickpeas act as a citrus infused alternative to croutons when roasted with the lemon. To see how to make this yummy dish look below! 

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 35-45 minutes

Serves: 4 as a starter

Ingredients:

400g of chickpeas

1 unwaxed lemon

4 garlic cloves

1 tbsp vegetable oil

sea salt 

black pepper

800g good quality tinned cherry tomatoes

pork stock cube

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

120g chorizo 

170ml single cream 

1. Preheat the oven to 180◦c and line a baking tray with parchment paper. 

2. Drain the chickpeas and rinse fully. Place them on the baking tray along with thinly sliced lemon (shown above) and whole unpeeled garlic cloves. Top with sea salt, drizzle with oil and place in the oven to cook for 30-40 minutes, until golden and crispy. 

3. While the chickpeas are cooking place the tinned tomatoes in a medium saucepan and crush in the stock cube. Warm through bringing to a simmer. 

4. After approximately 15 minutes of the chickpeas roasting remove the garlic from the baking tray (placing the rest back in the oven to finish cooking) and squeeze it from its skin into the soup. Simmer for a further 5 minutes. 

5. Add the sugar and the vinegar to the soup and continue to simmer, season if necessary. While this is happening place the chorizo into a small pan and cook for around 3 minutes, until slightly crispy. 

6. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the cream. Use a hand blender to process the soup mixture until smooth. 

7. Serve by ladling the soup into bowls. Garnish each with the chickpeas, chorizo and a slice or two of lemon, running a little extra cream through if presenting, and the lightly toasted and buttered ciabatta. 

Tip: Don't leave the soup on the heat while adding the cream as it is likely to curdle, no good for anyone! This dish is perfect for a starter or main (with supplements) this time of year when it is neither warm or bitterly cold. The crunchy chickpeas add a different texture to what would otherwise be a smooth cream  based soup, and the chorizo adds a little salty flavor. Have a go, it's really yummy!

Cheerio x