Autumn is here, its soup time!

Soup is a lot like a family. Each ingredient enhances the others; each batch has its own characteristics; and it needs time to simmer to reach full flavour.

Marge Kennedy

It was bloody freezing here last week, so much so that I decided it was time to get the soup pan out. I love soup and over the years I've collected quite a few lovely recipes. There is one though that I really look forward to making so, I thought I'd share the recipe with you.

When I first saw the title I thought it sounded complicated and perhaps a little pretentious; Chickpea and Sausage Noodle Soup with Cavolo Nero and Preserved Lemon and Chilli Gremolata, see what I mean! Truth is it's actually very easy to make, it's got a bit of heat, it's the epitome of hearty and pretentious, well, I think it was the gremolata thing that put me of, in all honesty, I had no idea what it actually was, it just sounded posh!

Well, it might sound posh but I love it and I now use it in tons of other things, it's perfect for brightening things, especially anything meaty, like a rich slow cooked stew, I've even used it to accompany bbq meats. All it is is simply lemon zest, flat leaf parsley and raw garlic, I know, who knew! It's simply all chopped together, until really fine. The thing is, intend to treat it as a bit of a base, I experiment with adding other flavours and textures, in this soup dish I use preserved lemon and added a goodly amount of chilli! It really, really lifts this dish.

The recipe below is enough for five or six, which for me is perfect, one for me and my two housemates for dinner, then leftovers for lunch for the rest of the week!

Ingredients

6 cloves garlic
100g streaky bacon, sliced small
400g sausages, removed from their skins and roughly chopped (chunky, meaty sausages are particularly good for this, I have a fabulous butcher who make their own, Toulouse and some Italian varieties work well, but use your favourite)
500g cooked chickpeas tinned (if you're more of a fan of beans, use any white bean)
2 litres chicken broth
2 tsp hot chilli (use mild if you're not such a fan of heat!)
150g cavolo nero stripped from the stems (you can use kale but I find it a little bitter)
100g lokshen, (fine Jewish soup noodles) if you can't find it, use broken spaghetti

For the preserved Lemon and Chilli Gremolata

2 tbsp finely chopped preserved lemon
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 tsp hot chilli (again, if you're not a fan of heat, use mild)
4 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Instructions

Fry the bacon in its own fat over a medium heat until it has rendered some of its fat and is starting to brown.
Add the sausage meat and stir through, breaking up gently with a wooden spoon as you do. Add the garlic and stir for a couple of minutes.
Add the broth, the chickpea, the chilli and the lokshen. Cook for as long as the noodles need (check the packet), and for the last few minutes add the cavolo nero.
While the soup is cooking prepare the gremolata by getting to work on the mixture with your knife and finely chopping it all together.
Season the soup to taste and serve with the gremolata to be sprinkled on top with a spoon.

Told you it was simple - go on, give it a go!

What's on this week?