Lunch · Dinner · Middle Eastern

Spiced red lentil & tomato soup

Name: Spiced red lentil & tomato soup
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 250g Red split lentils, rinsed; 1 Brown onion; 2 Carrots; 3 cloves Garlic; 15g Fresh ginger; 1 tin Chopped tomatoes; 2 cubes Vegetable stock cube, in 1.2 litres water; 2 tsp Ground cumin; 1 tsp Smoked paprika; ½ tsp Chilli flakes; 2 tbsp Olive oil; 1 Lemon; 15g Fresh coriander

Store-cupboard lentils, a bit of heat and a lot of comfort. Costs next to nothing.

Start to finish: 1 hr
Hands-on: 28 min
In the fridge: 4 days
Freezes: Yes

VeganA little heatContains celery

Ingredients

4 portions

250gRed split lentils, rinsed
1Brown onion
2Carrots
3 clovesGarlic
15gFresh ginger
1 tinChopped tomatoes
2 cubesVegetable stock cube, in 1.2 litres water
2 tspGround cumin
1 tspSmoked paprika
½ tspChilli flakes
2 tbspOlive oil
1Lemon
15gFresh coriander

Plus salt, pepper and water.

Method

1
Chop the onion and carrots. Crush the garlic and finely grate the ginger.
2
Warm the oil in a large pan and soften the onion and carrots with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes, stirring now and then.
10 min, mostly hands-off
3
Stir in the garlic, ginger, cumin, paprika and chilli flakes for a minute. Add the lentils, the tomatoes and the stock cubes crumbled into 1.2 litres of boiling water.
4
Bring to the boil, then simmer with the lid ajar for 25 minutes, stirring now and then so nothing catches, until the lentils have collapsed.
27 min, mostly hands-off
5
Blitz with a stick blender until smooth-ish, leaving a little texture. Squeeze in the lemon juice, chop and stir through the coriander, and season well.
6
Loosen with a splash of water if it is very thick. Leave to cool, then ladle into tubs.

On the day

Microwave for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring halfway, until piping hot. It thickens in the fridge, so stir in a splash of water first.

Cook’s tip

Freeze a few portions flat in freezer bags. They stack like books in the freezer and defrost overnight in the fridge.