Pasta Chick Pea and Rosemary Soup

The fridge was pretty bare when I checked it out this lunch time apart from half a can of chick peas left over from a dish a couple of days ago, half a can of chopped tomatoes from the same dish and four sticks of celery. I picked up the free Waitrose Spring cookbook, opened it up and there was a recipe for Pasta, Chick Pea and Rosemary soup that need all three ingredients.  Along with a small red onion that I discovered hiding amongst the white ones in the pantry, pasta which I always have, and rosemary that seems to be the only herb that grows in the garden at this time of year. Ooh and garlic which we always have tons of. How fortuitous! (If that's a real word!)


Easy...you just chop the onion and celery and garlic. Pop them into a saucepan with a tablespoon of olive oil and soften for five minutes. Add the tomatoes, basil and a little tomato puree. Season and bring to the boil, then simmer to form a thick sauce. Add the chick peas and cook for a couple of minutes, then add about a litre of hot water and pasta and cook til the pasta is tender. It was delicious  eaten with another batch of the spelt olive oil bread that I made this morning.

I missed out the addition of one more ingredient. I accidentally picked up a bottle of balsamic vinegar instead of olive oil, but it was too late. It seems the extra ingredient really worked well...

I must remember for next time...