Roasted Parsnip, Chickpea and Lemon Soup

Soup for lunch anyone?

Try this lovely warming soup with amazing flavours and a delicious thick and creamy texture.

It makes either one large portion or two smaller portions, depends on whether you want to share it :-)

You will need:

1 tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 parsnip, chopped

1 pint of vegetable stock

2 cloves of garlic

1 teaspoon of tahini

1 Lemon, juice and rind

1 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes

1 teaspoon of dried Coriander and extra for garnish

Smoked Paprika

Salt and Pepper

Olive Oil

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade.

In a tray place the parsnip and chopped garlic drizzled with olive oil and roast in the oven until cooked - about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the chickpeas (set a few aside to garnish the soup with) in a pan on the hob with the tahini and add half the lemon juice and rind, dried chilli flakes, dried coriander and salt and pepper. Simmer gently until the parsnip is ready to come out of the oven.

When the parsnip is cooked, chopped into smaller chunks and add to the pan with the chickpeas and continue to simmer gently for about 5 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper.

Add the contents of the pan to a blender with the remaining lemon juice and rind and blend until creamy. Serve in a bowl and garnish with the remaining chickpeas, smoked paprika and dried coriander.

Serve with my homemade savoury oat crackers for a delicious winter warming lunch.