Broad bean & chickpea

Today the day .............................. to make soup

A bowl of steaming, warming, thick soup is exactly what you need on a cold, miserable, very wet day like today - and if it's homemade, so much the better.

This is one of my favourites and according to my cookery book - the special fibre in the beans and chickpeas protects the heart and circulation by lowering cholesterol, and the garlic and onion are perfect winter protectors. The pinches of cayenne pepper add a bit more heat to the bowl.

Ingredients:

vegetable oil (2 tblspns)
onion (1 medium, very finely chopped)
garlic (1 clove, smashed and finely chopped)
tomatoes (275g or 10 oz, canned, chopped)
ground coriander (1 tsp)
cayenne pepper (2 pinches)
vegetable stock (1.2 l 0r 40 fl oz - stock cube or bouillon powder is fine)
potatoes (2 large, peeled and finely diced)
chickpeas (275g or 6 oz, canned, drained)
broad beans (175 or 6 oz, fresh or frozen)
oregano leaves (1 small handful fresh or 3 teaspoons dried, finely chopped)


Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently saute the onions and garlic until soft and golden.
2. Tip in the tomatoes, coriander and cayenne pepper and simmer for 10 mins.
3. Pour in the stock, potatoes, chickpeas and broad beans and continue simmering until the chickpeas and beans are tender - about 30 mins.
4. About 5 mins before serving sprinkle on the oregano