We may grow swedes here for winter feed for our sheep, but that doesn't stop me from grabbing a few out of the paddock for our own lunches. Swedes are a wonderful cool season vegetable, imparting a warm, hearty flavour to winter soups, especially when roasted.
Preparation time - 15 minutes
Cook time - 45 minutes
Serves - 4
Ingredients
1 medium - large swede, peeled, topped and diced
2 leeks, sliced
1 large carrot, sliced
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
4 cups chicken stock
1x 400g can chickpeas
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C fanbake
In a roasting pan add the swede, leek and carrot. Drizzle well with olive oil and sprinkle over the spices.
Toss the vegetables to evenly coat them in the oil and spices and then bake for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are starting to crisp around the edges.
Drain the can of chickpeas and rinse under running water. Tip onto a clean tea-towel and gently roll them in the tea-towel to dry.
Add the chickpeas to a seperate roasting dish, drizzle generously with olive oil and season well with freshly cracked salt and pepper. Add them to the oven to bake for 20 minutes, or until crispy and golden.
Scrape the cooked swede, leek and carrot into a medium saucepan. You can place a few to the side here to use for garnish later on.
Pour in the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and allow the soup to simmer for 15 minutes to soften the vegetables.
Use a stick whizz, blitz the soup until it is smooth and creamy. Taste and season well with salt and pepper.
Ladel into bowls and top with the crispy, roasted chickpeas.
