For the first time in a couple of months, I’m not coughing. It’s amazing the difference that getting my asthma under control has made and last week, I finally shook off the cold of death, I’m not wheezing and I’m (as much as I ever do) getting enough sleep.

What does this have to do with chickpea soup? Not much except it wouldn’t have happened unless I felt better. The truth is that I didn’t have any energy while I was full of cold and wheezing and although cooking happened, it didn’t happen with enthusiasm or creativity. Since September, I’ve been doing a form of ‘non-planning planning’ which consisted mostly of running around for 10 minutes on a Sunday night trying to work out if I had things to take to work for breakfast and lunch, followed by being exhausted and going to bed.

When Christelle and I shared a flat we talked a lot about whether or not we were in possession of the ‘mojo’ and over the past couple of weeks I have been mojo-less. However, last week, things started to look up. I knew I was feeling better because I began to get annoyed by the clutter in the flat, I started to read food blogs again and be inspired by them. This weekend, I did some actual menu planning and food prep for the week ahead, rather than running around like a headless chicken on a Sunday night trying to work out what I’m going to eat. Things are looking up, I feel like a human being again.
I’ve been having this soup for lunch this week. It’s hearty but not heavy and gently spiced. It’s a soup that gives you a cuddle and is perfect for autumn. Better still it takes about 30 minutes all in and I the ingredients are things that I usually have in the cupboard!

The original idea was from Marmalade and Me, I’ve adjusted it so it makes less and changed to accommodate what I had in the cupboard and freezer.

What

1 tblsp olive oil

2 cups mirepoix (this is my version but if you don’t have that, a small onion, a couple of ribs of celery and a medium carrot chopped up will do the job!)

2 cloves of garlic

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 pint (500ml) stock

1 can of chickpeas or the equivalent weight of cooked chickpeas

1 can plum tomatoes

1 cup of frozen corn

juice of 1 lemon

How

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the mirepoix and crushed garlic. Cook until the vegetables start to soften about 5-10 minutes. Stirring a bit to it doesn’t stick.
2. Add the cumin and smoked paprika and frying another minute or so.
3. Add the stock, tomatoes, chickpeas and corn to the pot, add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 10 or so minutes.
4. Now take out 4 ladlefuls of soup, blitz in a blender (I find a stick blender is quicker) until it’s smooth. Add this back into the soup and stir.
5. Add the lemon juice and simmer for a further 2 minutes.
6. Either eat or put in containers for soup for lunch!