Chickpea and tomato soup

Serves: people

A simple soup of bread, tomatoes and beans that is definitely more than the sum of its parts! This makes a quick, healthy and satisfying after-work dinner.

This scrummy soup is Puglia’s answer to the Tuscan ribollita. It used to be the breakfast of farm labourers during the winter months when they needed something warm and substantial to fend off the cold.

INGREDIENTS

2 carrots
2 sticks celery
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 green chilli
Bunch spring onions
4 slices sourdough bread or ciabatta, slightly stale
50 g sundried tomatoes
400 g tin chopped tomatoes
400 g tin chickpeas
600 ml chicken stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt
black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Put the sundried tomatoes in a bowl, cover with boiling water and leave to soak.
Wash the parsley and celery and finely chop. Wash and trim the spring onions and finely slice. Peel and thinly slice the carrots. Wash, deseed and finely chop the chilli. Drain the chickpeas and set aside.
Warm the oil in a pan. Add the spring onions, celery and parsley, sprinkle with a little salt and soften for about 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent the mixture sticking to the pan.
Meanwhile, boil a kettle and make the stock according to packet instructions.
Drain the sundried tomatoes, roughly chop them and add to the pan with the carrots and chilli. Continue cooking for 3-4 minutes.
Add the drained chickpeas and tinned tomatoes with their liquid to the pan and stir to combine.
After a couple of minutes, add the chicken stock and bring the soup to a boil. Then turn the heat down and simmer for 15 minutes.
To serve, toast the slices of sourdough or ciabatta. Put a slice into individual bowls then ladle over the soup and sprinkle with a generous grinding of black pepper.