Tomato, Chickpea and Pasta Soup
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2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
100g frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
540ml tin chickpeas, drained
796ml (28fl oz) tin low or no salt diced tomatoes
900ml vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups passata sauce (strained tomatoes)
1/2 cup small pasta shapes, for soups
freshly ground salt and black pepper, to taste
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
Gently heat the olive oil and garlic in a stockpot over medium heat until the garlic is soft and just starting to brown. Add the spinach and the drained chickpeas and stir. Add some salt and black pepper.
Add in the diced tomatoes, vegetable stock, passata sauce and pasta shapes. Give a good stir. Add the sprigs of thyme. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat until the soup is simmering. Stir occasionally and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the pasta is tender. Remove the thyme springs before serving.
Notes: You can use dried herbs and seasonings if you do not have fresh. The pasta shapes I used were No52 DITALINI.
More snow fell over the weekend and warmer weather started this week off; which is always nice. Hope everyone had a great weekend! - JD