the perfect january lunch

And so we meet again in a bright new year. What have you been eating lately? I've returned to this chickpea lemon soup - I made it when I wanted a starter one evening, but liked it even more when I had the leftovers for lunch the next day. It might be the perfect january lunch, hearty and comforting and bright at the same time.

Chickpea Soup with Lemon
adapted from Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Heat some olive oil in a big pan and add a diced onion, a diced carrot and a couple of diced celery stalks. Let them cook on a low heat, until they are translucent and soft. Then add a minced clove of garlic, a pinch of cayenne pepper (or more, if you want to, or a crushed red chili) and a teaspoon of toasted, freshly ground cumin seeds. Let it all get comfortable for a minute, then add (the contents of) a (drained)* can of chickpeas. Then add 3/4 liter vegetable or chicken stock. Let it come to the boil, then turn the heat down and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Off the heat, blend the soup until it's smooth. Then add two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice. Add more stock or water if you think it needs it, and check for seasoning.

Serve with some chopped cilantro on top, or (as I did) with a sprinkling of toasted cumin seeds and toasted sesame seeds. Just toast them together in a dry pan for a couple minutes, making sure they don't burn. The cumin seeds will burn before the sesame seeds do, so be mindful of that.

For some asian fusion, serve in a japanse bowl, alongside a chapati. Oh yes.

* Sorry about that. You know what to do with a can of chickpeas.

- Anne