Moroccan Chickpea & Sweet Potato Soup

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I think it’s safe to say we’re having an Irish summer. What’s that you ask? It’s when you get to experience all four seasons, in a day. Stormy, overcast skies in the morning. Baking in rays of glorious sunshine at lunch. Drenched in a downpour of fat rain by dinner. We often cook to reflect the changing seasons, so what do you make when the weather can’t make up it’s mind? A hearty Moroccan Spiced Soup. It’s beautifully fragrant and filling, without being as heavy as traditional winter root soups.

The sweet potato in the soup is high in Vitamin A, a rich anti-oxidant, plus garlic and onions are a great source of bioflavonoids which help to support the immune system.

For this version I used dried chickpeas to give a more nutty flavour. Canned chickpeas typically contain 48% less Iron, 42% less Copper, about 30% less Magnesium, Phosphors and Potassium and 10-25 percent less Zinc, Calcium and Selenium, plus they often have more sodium for preserving.

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Vegan. Gluten-Free. Dairy-Free. Nut-Free.

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Difficulty

Keeps for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge

Ingredients

Makes 4 portions

• 1 large sweet potato, chopped
• 2 sticks of celery, chopped
• 1 white onion, finely chopped
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 thumbnail piece of fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 150g dried chickpeas soaked overnight (or alternatively a 400g can, drained)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp harissa spice
• 1/2 tsp sumac
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 litre vegetable stock
• Salt and black pepper to season
• Fresh parsley to garnish

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Method

Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, celery and chilli and sauté over a medium heat for 10 minutes.

Stir in the sweet potato, cumin, cinnamon, harissa and sumac and cook for another 5 mins. Add the chickpeas and vegetable stock.

Bring to the boil, then leave to simmer.

If you’re using dried chickpeas, you’ll need to simmer it for around 1 – 1.5 hours (or until the chickpeas are al dente in texture). If using canned chickpeas, it should only take around 20-30 minutes (until the sweet potato is soft).

Blitz partially using a stick blender or processor, then return to the pan. Season with salt & pepper and add a little extra liquid if required.

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