Moroccan Chickpea Soup

Serves 4-6

You will need:

3 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium onion, finely chopped 1 stalk celery, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped Sea salt and freshly ground pepper 2 teaspoons coriander seeds 2 teaspoons cumin seeds 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes A big pinch of sugar 1 x 400g tin chickpeas 250ml vegetable stock or chicken stock Juice of half lemon 2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves and stalks 1 Heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Add the finely chopped onion, the finely chopped celery, the finely chopped garlic and some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook on a low heat with the lid on until the vegetables are soft but not coloured — this should take about 10 minutes. 2 As the onion, celery and garlic mixture cooks, add the coriander seeds and cumin seeds to a dry frying pan. Place it on medium heat for about a minute or so, just until the seeds are lightly toasted and fragrant. Then either use a pestle and mortar to crush them, or allow them to cool slightly, then place in a plastic bag and crush them using a rolling pin. 3 Add the crushed seeds to the onion, celery and garlic mixture in the saucepan and cook for a minute, then pour in the tinned chopped tomatoes and all their juice, the pinch of sugar, the tinned chickpeas with all the liquid from the tin, and the vegetable stock or the chicken stock, whichever you’re using. Simmer for 10 minutes, then add the lemon juice and the chopped fresh coriander, season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve.