Revision Soup

(Or squash, carrot, chilli & chickpea Soup to everyone else)

I don't know about anyone else but days spent in the library revising or writing essays there are only two things on my mind... the first is lunch and the second is dinner! Today was one of those days and by 9:30 I was already day dreaming of what to make for lunch. I wanted something comforting and filling but without the guilt, as who was I kidding, I was going to be sat on my bottom all day instead of facing the gym. Also my bank balance is current non-existent so I wanted to rustle up something cheap and cheerful. So here's what I came up with, roasted squash, carrot, chilli and chickpea soup. It's tasty and will keep you persevering through that library sesh until a reasonable time to start dreaming of dinner. It's also has a little chilli tang to kick you're brain back into revision mode. Here's the recipe, enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 1 can of chickpeas
• 1 large onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 red chilli
• 2 medium carrots
• 500ml of chicken stock
• mixed herbs
• salt & pepper to season
• 
  

Method:

Start by peeling the butternut squash and cutting it into small cubes, before placing in a roasting dish and popping the squash in the oven to cook at about 200 degrees for 15 minutes until soft. Next, drain the can of chickpeas and boil on the hob for around 10 minutes.

Whilst the chickpeas and squash are cooking, roughly chop the onion and fry in a deep pan for about 5 minutes until golden brown, then crush in the 2 cloves of garlic. Let this sizzle for a couple of minutes whilst you chop the chilli and grate the carrot before adding these to the pan. (As this is soup don't worry too much about the chopping, it's facing the blender sooner or later.)

Give all the ingredients in the pan a good stir for a couple of minutes before adding the chicken stock. Remove the squash from the oven and drain the chickpeas and chuck these into the big pan. Also add the mixed herbs and a good shake of salt and pepper. Let the mixture simmer for about 10 minutes, everything in the pan should be so soft it falls apart. 

Then it's time to blitz! Take a hand mixer and blend to the thickness you want, I like my soup quite chunky so I only gave it a quick blast (just over a minute will do)!

And there you go, it's ready to serve! If it's a little spicy for you just add a dollop of natural yogurt or splash of cream.

Recipe serves 3 hungry students.