Vegetable & Chickpea Soup

This recipe is featured in my Postcard Set on my Etsy shop - however it's so flippin' fantastic, homey, wholesome and warm-hug like, I have no qualms sharing it here too. It's my clear-as-day answer to the traditional get-well-soon Chicken soup, or Chicken noodle soup - as it's full of veg, pasta, chickpeas, soft sautéed leeks & onion, and a delicious comforting rosemary infused vegetable broth. If that doesn't get you salivating then know that it's hands down my favourite soup to date, and everyone I've fed it too has gone head over heels for it too. I'm telling you, this is the soup recipe you never knew you needed.

Ingredients

• olive oil
• 2 onions, finely diced
• 2 celery sticks, finely diced
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 leek, washed thoroughly and cut into half moons
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 2 medium-large potatoes, peeled and cut into different sized chunks
• 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained & rinsed
• vegetable/"chicken" stock, or ample hot water and 2 vegetable/"chicken" stock cubes
• 1/2 cup small pasta (e.g. risoni/orzo)
• 4 kale leaves, stalks removed & shredded
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 bunch asparagus, chopped
• salt & pepper

Method

1. In a large pot, sauté the onion, celery and garlic over medium-low heat with a generous drizzle of olive oil, until the onion is starting to soften. Add the leek and rosemary sprig and continue to sauté, until the leek is softened, and everything is smelling top notch.
2. Add the potatoes, drained chickpeas and cover with enough vegetable stock so that everything is submerged. Stir, cover the pot and cook for 20 minutes on medium heat. The potatoes should be tender.
3. Add the pasta and cook until the pasta is al dente, adding the kale, peas and asparagus 2 minutes before the pasta finishes cooking. Season to finish, remove the rosemary stalk and serve.