real-time-recipes

Tomato & Chickpea Orecchiette Soup

November 05

This dish is all about comfort with a twist! We’re bringing together vibrant veggies, hearty chickpeas, and pasta in a rich, flavourful tomato base that’s perfect for any night of the week. The addition of baby spinach not only adds a pop of color but also packs in nutrients, making this a wholesome meal. The garlic sourdough toasts are the perfect vehicle for soaking up all that delicious sauce!

Serves 4
45 mins

Method

1. To start, finely chop the carrot, onion and celery. Heat the oil in a large casserole pot over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery and a pinch of salt and fry for 15 mins (6-8 mins if you’re short on time), or until softened.
2. Whilst the veg softens, drain chickpeas, open tins of tomatoes and roughly cut them with scissors.
3. Add to the softened veg along with the tomato puree, soft brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Stir and add the veg stock cube and 400 - 600ml boiling water from the kettle. Stir in the pasta and bring to the boil, cooking for about 10 minutes.
4. Whilst the soup simmers, slice the sourdough bread and drizzle with a little olive oil. Get a griddle pan onto a high heat. Add the bread to the hot griddle pan and cook until toasted. Remove from the pan and rub with the garlic cloves and season with a little salt and another drizzle of olive oil.
5. Season the soup and add in the chickpeas and spinach, cover and simmer again
6. Finally, blitz parmesan in mini blender. Ladle the hot soup into bowls, season, drizzle over extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with the blitzed parmesan. Finish with some fresh basil leaves and black pepper.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 carrot

2 stalks celery

1 onion

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon light brown sugar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 cans (14 oz each) chopped tomatoes

1 vegetable stock cube

2.5 to 3 cups hot water

1 can (14 oz) chickpeas

5 oz orecchiette pasta

2 large handfuls baby spinach

3.5 oz Parmesan cheese

For the garlic sourdough toasts:

4 slices sourdough bread

2 garlic cloves, peeled

To serve:

Fresh basil & extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

1 carrot

2 sticks celery

1 onion

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp soft brown sugar

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes

1 veg stock cube

600 – 700ml hot water

1 x 400g tin chickpeas

150g orecchiette

2 large handfuls of baby spinach

100g parmesan cheese