Moroccan chickpea soup

This low-fat soup is packed with storecupboard pulses, healthy grains and North African spice- use cumin, ras el hanout, ginger and cinnamon

·         Prep: 10 mins 

·         Cook: 25 mins 

Nutrition per serving

·         Calories 211

·         Carbohydrates 32

·         Saturated Fat 1

·         Sugar 12

·         Protein 9

·         Fat 5

·         Fibre 6

·         Salt 1.3

Ingredients

·         1 tbsp olive oil

·         1 onion, chopped

·         2 garlic cloves, crushed

·         1 red chilli, deseeded and roughly chopped

·         1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

·         1 tsp cumin

·         1 tsp ras-el-hanout

·         ¼ tsp cinnamon

·         200g roasted red peppers, from a jar

·         2 x 400g cans chopped tomato

·         400ml vegetable stock

·         400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

·         2 preserved lemons, rind chopped (discard the pulp and seeds)

·         1 tbsp clear honey

·         50g wholewheat couscous

Tip

Spicing it up
Spice it up further with a spoonful of harissa paste. Curry lovers can swap the cumin for 1 tsp of garam marsala. Or for a more hearty dish, fry 4 sliced chorizo sausages along with the onions and celery.

Method

1.      Heat the oil in a large lidded pan. Add the onion and garlic, put on the lid and cook for 5 mins, stirring halfway through. Stir the chilli, ginger, cumin, ras el hanout and cinnamon into the pan and cook for 1 min. Add the peppers, tomatoes and stock. Bring to the boil, turn down to a simmer, put on the lid and cook for 10 mins.

2.      Blitz the soup with a stick blender, or in a food processor until smooth. Return to the pan and add more liquid to thin the soup, if you like. Stir in the chickpeas, preserved lemons, honey and some seasoning. If eating straight away, add the couscous and heat through for 5 mins. (If taking to work, add the couscous just before reheating).