Chick Pea Soup

As the weather gets cooler my appetite slides away from salads and gives more to soups. During the summer (when there's little on TV) I caught an episode of Laura Calder's French Food at Home and I was struck by her Chickpea Soup recipe.

Through most of my life, I can't recall chick peas ever being a staple of my family's diet. My earliest recollection of chick peas was seeing them being offered in a bowl along with other finger foods like peanuts, cashews, walnuts. The chickpea bowl used to always stay full. The only time I'd reach into the bowl was to pluck out the yellow sultana raisins and reject the poor chick pea.

Fast-forward thirty some odd years and Peter is a food-crazed, open-minded, "I'll try anything once kinda guy" and here I am getting over my chick pea aversion. Times change, tastes change. Change your attitude about food. Try something you never liked, again...you'll surprise yourself!

Now back to the Chickpea Soup recipe. I bookmarked the recipe for cooler days and the wait paid off. It's an easy recipe, tastes complex and the cumin gives a nice smokiness to the soup. It's one of those velvety soups you could also serve up for a dinner party.

I stayed true to her recipe but I used canned chickpeas which are a time-saver and they worked just fine for this first course. I also added some chopped chives for garnish and colour. It was a good side to my grilled cheese & bacon sandwich!

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