Carrot and Chickpea Soup

Now I know you're thinking that it's totally the wrong weather for soup but I made this a little while ago and though it was worth posting. It used up half a tin of chickpeas and some carrots that were very near going off and made this beautiful and vibrant orange soup. Not to mention that it;s also ridiculously tasty too!

Carrot and Chickpea Soup (adapted from Mark Bittman)
(Serves 4)

1 tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
450g carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
salt and pepper
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp smoked paprika
1l vegetable stock
1 400g tin chickpeas
250ml orange juice

Put the oil in a large pot over medium heat; a minute later, add the onions, carrots, and garlic and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat as needed to keep the vegetables from burning, until the onions and carrots have coloured, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the cumin and paprika and cook, stirring, for another 30 seconds.

Add the stock and chickpeas. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down so the mixture bubbles gently but steadily. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chickpeas are very soft, about 30 mins; add more liquid as necessary so the mixture remains soupy.

When the chickpeas are very tender, add the orange juice. Blend the soup with a hand blender and put into bowls to serve.