Leek & Chickpea Soup

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After all the sweet indulgence of Christmas I start to crave vegetables and something *clean* to eat. Today I rustled up some leek and chickpea soup. I tend to make recipes up as I go along so you may want to add more or less seasoning or vary the amount of vegetables.

Ingredients
Olive oil to sauté the vegetables
1/2 large white onion
1 large leek
1 carrot
2 large cloves of garlic
750ml water
1/2 vegetable stock cube
1 tin chickpeas
A good grind of salt & pepper
1 bay leaf

Method
Saute the finely chopped onion, carrot and leek in a glug of olive oil for about five minutes or until they start to soften. Add the thinly sliced garlic, stir in and continue to sauté for about a minute. Drain and rinse the chickpeas and add to the mix. Add 750ml water and half a vegetable stock cube. (You can use a whole stock cube for a stronger taste but I like to really enjoy the taste of the vegetables.) Add salt and pepper to taste and rest a bay leaf on top of the soup.

Bring to the boil and then simmer for at least 30 minutes or longer if you can. Serve with humous on rice cakes or a big chunk of bread and butter. Enjoy : )

Pea, Leek & Turmeric Soup

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I've been reading a lot about the benefits of turmeric lately and have been adding little bits to my diet here and there. It's used a lot in Indian cooking and known to be anti-inflammatory and also to help with brain function and possibly depression. 

I make this super simple homemade recipe when I want a quick and warming lunch.
Ingredients
400g frozen peas
1 leek
1 tsp ground turmeric
500ml vegetable stock (I use Kallo vegetable stock)
Method
Chop the leek into pieces and pop all the ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer for approximately 10 minutes or until the leek is tender. Remove from the heat and blitz with a hand-blender. Serve with chunks of bread or rice cakes with hummus also go surprisingly well.
Serves 2 - 3