55 MINUTES (LOTS OF INACTIVE TIME THOUGH!) | FEEDS 4

Carrot, lentil & lentil soup

This is a flexible recipe which can be tweaked to use whatever veg and spices you’ve got to hand. I like to make a big batch of the soup base then mix up the toppings throughout the week to keep things interesting!

METHOD

Heat the oil in a large pot over a medium-high heat then fry the carrots, celery, leeks and a good pinch of salt and pepper for 10 minutes until softened. Add the spices and lentils, fry for another minute or two, stirring continuously so that the lentils don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Add the stock, stir and bring up to a strong simmer. Cook with the lid on for 15 minutes, stirring every so often, until the lentils and veg are tender. Taste for seasoning.

You can either keep this chunky or blitz part or all of the soup. Top with whatever takes your fancy.

INGREDIENTS

6 tbsp olive oil, coconut oil or butter
1kg of carrots, finely chopped
4 sticks of celery, finely chopped
3 leeks, halved, washed and finely sliced
3 tsp ground cumin
3 tsp ground coriander
2 tbsp sweet paprika
Pinch of chilli flakes or cayenne
300g red lentils
2.5 litres veg stock
Sea salt and pepper

To serve
Your favourite hard cheese (plus the rind for the soup if possible)
Chilli flakes
Drizzle of olive oil