Chickpea & Cauliflower Soup

1 head of cauliflower – broken down into small florets

1 onion – peeled and roughly chopped

1 whole bulb of garlic – top cut off

540mL can of low sodium* chickpeas – drained and rinsed

3 small Yukon gold potatoes – roughly chopped

6 cups water**

2 tbsp vegetable bouillon**

Parmesan cheese rinds***

1-2 tbsp red chili flakes

Shredded parmesan

Before you get started - You need an immersion blender!

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Coat cauliflower florets, onion, bulb of garlic and a handful of chickpeas**** in your oil of choice, sprinkle with salt and roast for ~30ish minutes.

2. Boil water and mix in bouillon. Add potatoes and cook until fork tender (~10-15 min).

3. Once potatoes are cooked, take the boiling pot off the stove and add in the roasted cauliflower, onion, the rest of the chickpeas, and squeeze the soft roasted garlic out of the whole bulb into the pot.

4. Now, BE CAREFUL with this next step. Use the immersion blender to puree everything in the pot. It will likely not get to a super smooth consistency yet but do your best.

5. Add parmesan rinds and red chili flakes to the pot and place it back on the heat.

6. Bring soup to a simmer by starting with a medium high heat and once simmering, reduce to a low heat for another 15-20 minutes.

7. Remove the parmesan rinds and give the soup another good mix with the immersion blender until you get a consistency that you’re happy with.

8. Add salt and pepper to taste

9. Top with shredded parmesan and roasted chickpeas

10. Enjoy 😊

*The average intake of sodium in the Canadian population is above something called the upper tolerable intake level. This is a threshold that tells us when we’ve had too much of a certain nutrient and are at risk of negative health impacts as a result. Heart disease is a common concern in Canadians and is associated with high sodium intake. Canned items are well known for having a lot of sodium. An easy way to reduce your overall sodium intake is to choose low-sodium canned foods when possible.

**I used water and bouillon for this because I didn’t have vegetable stock and was too lazy to go to the grocery store. If you have vegetable stock at home, use 6 cups of stock instead of the water and bouillon. *Also try choosing low sodium stock/broth to reduce the sodium content of this recipe

***I love parmesan so I buy mine from Costco in a big chunk that I break down myself using my magic bullet. I save the rinds in the freezer for times like this. You can throw them in soups or sauces to give them extra flavour. If you don’t have rinds, just add parmesan cheese to taste at the end.

****I added some paprika and garlic powder to my roasted chickpeas to make them look pretty but also taste great

Based on 6x 1 cup servings (I definitely had 2 cups in a sitting)

Energy: 183kcal

Protein: 9g

Fat: 3g

CHO: 31g

Fibre: 9g