With the wintery weather well upon us, we can think of nothing better than a warm soup to nourish tummies and add a lovely smell to the house whilst it's cooking!  As such we would love to share with you a recipe from the book - The Waldorf School Book of Soups.

Chickpea, Tomato and Pasta Soup

10 cups chicken stock

2 x cans chickpeas (rinsed well)

1 x 800g can diced tomatoes, with liquid

1 - 1.5 cups short pasta

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

6-8 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil

In a large soup pot, heat the chicken stock to a boil; reduce heat, and add chickpeas and rosemary sprigs.  Let simmer.

In another soup pot, heat the olive oil, then add the garlic.  Saute until golden.  Add tomatoes (with juice).  Let simmer (ten minutes or so) until flavours blend, and add to the chicken stock; let simmer for 20 minutes to half an hour with lid on.  Remove rosemary sprigs; using a slotted spoon, remove half the chickpeas; puree in a food processor (or blender) with some of the soup liquid.  Return the puree to the soup to thicken it.  Mix in well.  Let simmer.

Cook the pasta in water, or chicken stock (preferable) if you have extra on hand, for 3 minutes less than the recommended time on the package, until just al dente.

Add pasta to soup.  Stir well, and serve in large bowls with grated parmesan (or romano) on the side.

Serves 8-10