The seasons have turned; bright firey colours, falling leaves and the air a little more crisp, when nothing could be better than a hearty bowl of soup to warm you through. This is such a simple, yet super delicious and nourishing lentil soup recipe.
Below you can find the recipe and my latest video on how to make this soup, ready in under 30 minutes - with warming spices and protein-packed lentils to keep you feeling full. Perfect served up with a slice of crusty wholemeal bread for dunking.
Lentils are also full of fibre, a serving of this soup contains about 1/3 [1] of your daily recommended fibre of 30g [2]. In the UK, the average fibre intake is around 17g for women and 20g for men, with very few adults meeting the recommended 30g a day. Fibre is an essential part of our diet, low fibre consumption has been associated with gut diseases like bowel cancer, whilst a high fibre diet has shown to help cholesterol levels, healthy weight maintenance and protect against type 2 diabetes [3]. There are different types of fibre, but generally, a diet with a range of sources such as wholegrains, oats, legumes, nuts and plenty of fruit and veg will provide a sufficient amount of both soluble and insoluble fibre.
Check out my latest video below, showing you how to make this delicious recipe. Please give it a like and subscribe to my channel below by hovering over the flower icon and hitting subscribe!
You'll need
- Large saucepan
- Chopping board
- Knife
- Veg peeler
- Fine grater
- Sieve
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Blender/hand blender (optional)
- Wooden spoon
- Ladle
Ingredients
- Splash olive oil
- 1 large onion
- 2 sticks celery
- 1 large carrot
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 2-inch piece ginger
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp mixed herbs
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1 medium potato
- 1 cup red lentils
- Juice 1 lime
- 1L water (4 cups)
- 1tsp salt
- Black pepper
- Chili flakes for garnish (optional)
Method
- Peel the onion and carrot and then dice, along with the celery into 1cm pieces. Heat the pan to medium, add a splash of olive oil and the veggies and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often.
- Meanwhile, peel and grate the ginger, peel and dice the potato and measure out the spices.
- Then add the ginger and tomato puree to the pan and cook off for a few minutes, then add the spices and stir round the pan, before adding the potato.
- Rinse the lentils and add along with the lime juice, water and salt. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Crack in some black pepper and taste for seasoning, adjusting if needed.
- If you'd like your soup a little thicker, remove a little and blend it up, then stir it back in or blend a little section of the pan with a hand blender. Or, if you prefer your soup more broth-like (as shown in the pictures), it's ready to serve!
- Serve up, drizzle with a little olive oil and a pinch of chili flakes and enjoy!
Cassidy xx
Sources
1. McCance and Widdowson's Composition of Foods
