I always feel childhood comfort with a tomato soup. I love the laziness of not having to go out to get an ingredient and being able to rely on what’s in the cupboard. Fresh tomatoes in the Summer would be wonderful but here tinned tomatoes for a cosy autumnal soup are all you need and a tin of chickpeas makes this heartier and creamy. I’ve always got onions and garlic so that’s sorted and you can chop everything roughly as it all gets blended. I use dried or fresh thyme here but if you had lots of fresh basil or oregano, swap them in. Top with some goat’s cheese or feta to melt in if you like or a little grated parmesan.

Method

1. Fry the onion in the ghee/butter  in a medium saucepan for 6 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally
2. Add the garlic, thyme, sea salt & pepper for a few minutes
3. Add the chopped tomatoes, broth/stock stir and cover with a lid and let simmer for about 12 minutes
4. Add the drained and rinsed chickpeas, cover again and let simmer for a final 5 minutes
5. Blend in batches, adjusting seasoning and adding a little more liquid if your soup is too thick then serve up each bowl with a swirl of extra virgin olive oil and some grated cheese, if you fancy

Ingredients

• 2 tbs ghee or butter
• 1 large (red) onion, chopped
• 3  garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes or 800g fresh
• 1.5 tbs  fresh thyme leaves or 1.5 sp dried thyme plus extra for garnishing
• 500ml quality broth/stock/water
• 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, 280g drained
• Chilli flakes, if you like
• Sea salt & black pepper

To serve

• Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
• A little Grated parmesan, crumble of feta or goat’s cheese (optional)
• Extra thyme to garnish

My Cookbook