Roasted cauliflower and chickpea soup

I am going through a major chickpea phase at the moment. MAJOR.

Lately, I have spent a great deal of time playing with this delightful little legume also known as the garbanzo bean. 

Admittedly, I have never given it its due credit.  Chickpea's are packed with protein and are high in fiber. 

You can add them to all sorts of meals or simply have on their own as a snack. 

Over the past few weeks, I have roasted them, blended them, fried them, and well, eaten them fresh. What a treat!

The kitchen has been covered with hummus curries and all things chickpea so much so that I even started considering chickpeas as the holy grail of legumes. Thankfully, I'm an equal opportunist when it comes to pulses and legumes so there is a lot of love to go around.

I recently partnered up with Woolworths to share this incredible (and hearty) soup that was born out of the chaos of my kitchen. 

This soup is unashamedly the love child of a roasted cauliflower and (roasted) chickpea and it is nothing short of perfection.

At the risk of sounding like a tag line for a coffee creamer commercial from the 80's, It boasts roasted chickpeas both inside and on top of it. 

Say goodbye to the stock standard croutons of yesteryear and welcome the roasted chickpea of tomorrow! 

Not only does the chickpea have better health benefits; they are able to replace less than ideal snacks and accompanyments with just as much flavour.

You can eat them solo with some grated Parmesan on! (I recommend a 3 year aged Parmesan), spice up the mundane nut bowl in your life or you can include them in salads and soups! 

I feel like this blog post should come with a warning sign.

WARNING: Chickpeas are slightly addictive.

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Serves 6, cook time: 1h 30m

Ingredients:

• 2 tins of chickpeas
• 2 cauliflower heads
• 1 ½ teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• ½ an onion, chopped
• 3 potatoes peeled and chopped.
• Olive Oil
• 1 liter vegetable stock
• ¼ cup of Parmesan
• Salt and pepper to taste

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Instructions:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius 

Rinse and dry your chickpeas. Keep the tins separate as you are going to roast them separately. 

Separate your cauliflower heads into florets. 

Put your cauliflower and 1 tin of chickpeas onto a roasting tray. Drizzle with Olive oil and toss. Make sure you don’t over do the oil. 

Sprinkle your cumin and paprika over and roast for 30 minutes. Tossing the tray at the 15 minutes mark. 

In a large pot over a medium heat add a tablespoon of olive oil, the garlic and onion and fry until soft. Add your potatoes and fry for a further 5-10 minutes stirring often. 

Once your cauliflower and chickpeas are roasted add them to your pot. 

Add your last tin of chickpeas to the roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil and roast for 30 minutes, tossing them every 10 minutes or so. 

Add the vegetable stock to the pot and top up with boiling water.

Let simmer for 30 minutes. Blend the soup using an immersion blender.

Add your Parmesan and stir. 

Salt and pepper to taste

Remove the chickpeas from the oven. You can grate Parmesan over them and have them as a snack and serve the rest of them as a crunch to your soup. 

Serve soup hot topped with chickpeas, Parmesan and black pepper. 

-Melissa

*This blog post is sponsored by Woolworths all opinions are my own

Earl grey and honey milkshakes

These milkshakes are inspired by one of my favourite ingredients of all time, honey.

I add honey to almost everything! You can use it in your tea, mix it in salad dressings and even add it to pizza! Yes, I said pizza. The saltiness of the bubbly cheese mixes so well with the sweetness of honey – its absolute perfection! Don’t even get me started on the health properties of honey. The list is too long to mention here but to give you an example; recently it’s proved a lifesaver in our home as a soothing throat and flu remedy (hot toddy alert!) 

You would be hard pressed to find a bigger fan of this versatile product from nature.

I partnered up with Woolworths to share these decadent Earl grey and honey milkshakes with you because, well, who said milkshakes are exclusively for summer? 
Or perhaps you need to bring a boy to your yard, pronto!?
Everyone knows a sure fire way to achieve the latter is through milkshakes.

I leave you with this parting thought from the only other honey fan that is more obsessed than I. 
The incomparable Winnie-the-Pooh.

“Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called.” “Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called.”

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Ingredients:

Serves 2

• 2 earl grey tea bags
• ½ a cup of boiling water
• 2 tablespoons of honey 
• 1 ½ cups vanilla ice cream
• 1 cup milk
• ½ a cup of cream
• Whipped cream to top
• Chocolate to decorate
• Honey to drizzle

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Instructions:

Add the tea bags to the boiling water and let seep for 4 minutes. No longer as the tea will become bitter!

Add the honey and stir. Let the tea cool. You can add two blocks of ice to speed up the process.

Blend together the tea, ice cream, milk and cream until light and frothy.

Serve topped with whipped cream, chocolate and a drizzle of honey!

-Melissa 

*This blog post is sponsored by Woolworths all opinions are my own

Citrus, Fennel and Avo salad

I am not a big believer in taking artificial vitamins. In fact I don’t take them at all. When it comes to vitamins I believe in turning to real food. Food can have amazing medicinal properties in its purest form! Why not opt for fresh fruit that is packed with healthy vitamins rather than swallowing a pharmaceutical (the size of a horse tranquilizer) that claims to have all the supplements your body needs?

Mmmm I’m not convinced. With winter banging down the door and our bodies needing extra support, this dish is one for the whole family to keep their bodies strong. 

One of the most effective cold and flu fighters is Vitamin C. 
I paired up with Woolworths on an exciting dish that is packed with this winter warrior and bursts with the fresh flavour that so many of us crave after weeks of consuming bowls of stew brimming with meat and potatoes. 
Woolies have such a great variety of fresh citrus in store. This salad pairs perfectly with a delicious fresh piece of fish, which will offer you protein, vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids.

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Ingredients:

Dehydrated Orange:

• 1 orange halved and thinly sliced, about 4mm

Salad:

• 4 oranges, peeled
• 2 grapefruit, peeled
• 75 grams pomegranate seeds
• 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced (do not use the leaves)
• 3 avocado
• 6 sprigs of mint

Dressing:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 small lemon, juiced 

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Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 100 degrees Celsius.

Place the thinly sliced oranges on a cooling rack and pop them in the oven for 1 hour. Keep an eye on them as this can vary due to slice thickness and oven accuracy. You want them to still be tacky but crisp!  

Using a sharp knife segment your oranges and grapefruit. Remove the membrane from each individual piece. Put the segments in a bowl. Don’t be too rough with them, as all the juice will escape!

For this recipe I used the Woolworths pomegranate seeds (A lovely cheat!)

If you bought your pomegranate whole, cut the top off and score 2cm down the side. Get a big bowl of water and crack the pomegranate open under the water. This will help with the mess. Release the seeds from the compartments. Once done, the seeds will sink and the husk will float! Set the seeds aside.

Peel and slice your avocados. Drizzle with lemon to prevent browning.

On a large platter you are going to layer your salad.

This salad does not do well tossed, as it will become too soggy. Layer your citrus and your fennel with your avocado and pomegranate and top with your mint leaves and dehydrated citrus chips for decoration!

For the dressing, mix all the ingredients together and drizzle just before serving!   

Serve with a prefect piece of fresh fish!

-Melissa 

*This blog post was sponsored by Woolworths. All opinions are my own.