Sometimes nothing will do for warmth and comfort other than a hearty bowl of soup! Seasonal Soups is just the book to bring that comfort to you every day, and we’re really pleased to share this mouthwatering recipe with you.

Recipe for Chilli Pepper Chickpea Soup
From Seasonal Soups by Fraser Reid
Published by Kitchen Press

Chilli Pepper Chickpea Soup

Serves 4

Try saying that quickly three times! A great warming but fresh soup: you can eat it chunky, but if you blend it then you will really taste the nutty flavour of the chickpeas.

1 tablespoon olive oil or butter

1 red onion, peeled and roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

1 chilli, deseeded (optional) and finely chopped

3 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

1 red pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped

1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained

2 stock cubes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat a pot on medium and add the oil or butter. Fry all of the vegetables for 10 minutes until soft but not coloured.

Stir in the drained chickpeas, give it all a good mix, and then add 1.2 litres of boiling water and the crumbled stock cubes. Bring to the boil and then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Season the soup to taste and either serve as it is or put in the blender and blitz until smooth.

From Seasonal Soups by Fraser Reid published by Kitchen Press, priced £8.99. This is a new edition (2019) of the book originally published as Fraser’s Seasonal Soups (2014).