A Spoonful of Sugar

Red Lentil and Vegetable Soup

5 large carrots, chopped
2 red onions, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
pinch of ground cayenne, or to taste
several dashes of Tabasco sauce
several dashes of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 pint (300ml) unsalted stock
12oz (350g) red lentils
3 pints (1.7L) water or unsalted stock (I added a dash of liquid chicken stock concentrate once the lentils were cooked)
425g jar/can red peppers or 3-4 red peppers, chargrilled and peeled
salt and pepper
4 tablespoons chopped coriander

Combined the carrots, onions, garlic, spices and sauces in a frying pan with the half pint of stock. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to a simmer for 10-15 minutes until vegetables are tender. Remove the lid and simmer briskly until most of the liquid is gone and the vegetables are lightly glazed.

Meanwhile, combine the lentils and water/stock in a large pan. Bring to a boil and simmer, occasionally skimming foam/scum from the surface.

Puree the vegetable mixture (if you use a handheld blender, be careful to ensure it is set on the lowest speed otherwise you'll decorate your kitchen!) and add it to the pan with the lentils. Keep simmering this mixture until the lentils are tender. This will take about 25 minutes in total.

Once the lentils are tender, add seasoning and carefully blend the soup until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning - I found that I needed lots of salt and pepper to get the taste of the spices to come through properly. I also added a few more shakes of cayenne to give it a bit of a kick. Stir through the chopped coriander.

Sue suggests serving this with a spoonful of peach salsa floated on the top of each bowlful. I'm wasn't entirely convinced that the flavours would work well together so I didn't bother to make any. It was nice with a spoonful of yogurt though...