Soup of two chickpeas and tomatoes

At the weekend, I was looking for a delicious, slow carb -compatible, vegetarian, uncomplicated recipe for the whole family. In short: something with lots of vegetables and a short cooking time.

Well. And there it is again: one of our three problems. Of course, a five-year-old Spiderman devotee will immediately develop incredible Spider Senses when it comes to identifying well-hidden vegetables in lunch. "Maaaamaaaaa, what is THAT ??", under accusing glances a spoon with a bit - let's say - zucchini under the nose. Mom rolls inwardly with her eyes and strives outwardly for a relaxed-sounding tone: "That, my darling, is zucchini. You like that. You always eat in the daycare. And last week we had this delicious soup that you thought was really good ... ". "NO - I do not like that!" Theatrically, the bowl is pushed away and loudly demanded for a cheeseburger. Sure, you can try it (secretly I admire it for its persistence). After a short, calm and fair disputation * cough * about healthy eating, the child starts feeding again. Or something like that. In any case, he eats meticulously around the smallest Fitzel zucchini. I hope he can soon transfer this penis to the topics of hand and hair washing. That would be something.

But back to the original problem: family lunches on Sunday. A cookbook in which I like to leaf on such occasions is this one by Yotam Ottolenghi.

There I found this delicious soup, on a tomato basis with various vegetables and herbs. For the adults with pesto and basil topping. For the little one without. Originally roasted bread was included in the soup, which I ignored for slow carb reasons. If you like, you can add to the roasted bread in olive oil just before the end of the cooking time.

The basic taste of the finished soup does not really blow your socks off (great for the child). Although (or because?) Celery and fennel are included, all flavors combine very harmoniously and none of the ingredients tastes too original. But that changes abruptly when the pesto is added as a topping. Then there are small taste explosions on every spoon, because the pesto wonderfully flatters each of the vegetables and teases the taste out. I recommend a spicy pesto version with basil and plenty of parsley.

And what can I say: The child has eaten his plate and said "Thank you Mom, that was delicious".They are slightly smaller and nuttier in flavor than their lighter relatives. Try it if you can get it!)

And this is how it works:

In a large saucepan, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat and sauté the onion and fennel. After 4 minutes, add the carrot and celery and stir fry for another 4 minutes. Then stir in the tomato paste and fry for 1 minute. Pour in the white wine and boil for 1-2 minutes.

Now add the canned tomatoes with juice, the herbs, the sugar, the vegetable broth and salt and pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes.

Wash the chickpeas, drain and place in a bowl. Crush with a potato masher, while still leaving a few chickpeas quite. Add to the soup and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Season the soup with salt and pepper.

Pour the hot soup into serving bowls, add a pinch of pesto and do not mix drizzle a little olive oil. (Omit pesto and olive oil for children). If you like, top the basil leaves cut into strips.