Leek and Chickpea Soup

• 1 cup organic dried chickpeas
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 3 sticks celery finely chopped
• 3 leeks finely chopped
• 1 tbsp rosemary very finely chopped.
• 1 l Water or Vege stock
• Sea Salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 bunch spinach thick stems removed
• 1 medium potato

1. Soak the chickpeas in water overnight, discarding any discoloured ones. Drain just before using. In a heavy saucepan gently heat the oil, then add the onion, celery, leeks, garlic and rosemary. Saute very slowly until soft but not allow to brown. This should take around minutes.
2. Don’t be tempted to add salt at this stage to speed up the sweating of the vegetables; salt will toughen the chickpeas.
3. Add the drained chickpeas, the chopped potato and the water (or stock) and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until the chickpeas are tender (1½ – 2 hours), adding extra water when necessary.
4. Take half the soup and place in a blender, and process til smooth, (or transfer to a bowl and mash with a potato masher), then add it back to the saucepan. Taste the soup and add salt and pepper.
5. Wash the spinach thoroughly, and roughly chop. Stir the spinach through the soup a few minutes before serving so that it retains its bright green colour, and is just wilted.
6. Serve in bowls and drizzle with raw extra virgin olive oil or flaxseed oil and extra black pepper.

A thin slice of parmesan atop this soup is also very yummy.