Looking for healthy soup ideas? Try this chickpea, red pepper and sage soup.

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • 100 ml vegetable stock
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 medium red onion, peeled and finely diced
  • 250 g potato, peeled and diced into 1⁄2 cm squares
  • 2 medium red capsicum/peppers, deseeded and diced into 1⁄2 cm squares to yield 2 cups
  • 1 medium carrot, peeled and finely diced
  • 4 cups diced ripe tomatoes (fresh)
  • 3 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
  • 1.5 L vegetable stock, home made
  • 1 1⁄2 cups tinned chickpeas, drained
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1⁄4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 tbsp grated parmesan

Method
Heat a large, heavy-based saucepan and add the vegetable stock. Add the diced onions, chopped garlic and cook until softened.

Add in the potatoes, red capsicum, carrots, tomatoes and the sage along with the vegetable stock. Bring the stock to the boil and lower the temperature to cook the vegetables over a moderate heat for 15 minutes. Stir the vegetables constantly to stop any from sticking. You may need to add a little more stock if the soup seems too thick.

Season with salt and pepper. Add in the cooked chickpeas and cook for a further 10 minutes to combine them with the vegetables. Serve the soup with chopped parsley, and drizzle with olive oil and shaved parmesan.

Recipe from My Taste of Sicily by Dominique, $39.95, Penguin.

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