Warming Lentil Soup
Easy to make, this recipe can be 100% vegan or packed full of protein and minerals by adding bone broth to the base. To make bone broth on a budget, use bones and carcasses from roasted chickens or other preparations. Use onions (peels and all “waste”), garlic (skin and all), the green tops of leeks and the bottom part of a bunch of celery. Add bay leaf, some thyme and rosemary, dry or fresh.
Recipe (makes 3 litres)
2 litres of bone broth and/or vegetable stock, or water
500 g lentils
2 medium-sized carrots (brunoise)
2 medium red onions (brunoise)
4 sticks of celery (brunoise)
greens of 1 leek (brunoise)
1 potato (diced)
1 tbsp za'atar (or a mix of ground cumin, cloves and cardamom + sesame seeds)
Salt
Pepper
Chives Oil
1 small bunch chives
100 ml olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 clove of garlic (optional)
Method:
Make the mirepoix by dicing the leek, celery, onions and carrots.
Melt the diced vegetables gently in a Dutch oven or enamel cast iron pot with the lid on, over low to medium heat, until the onions appear translucent (about 5-10 minutes). Stir occasionally to prevent the bottom from burning.
Add the diced potato and spices, stir and keep the lid on for another 5 minutes.
Add the lentils and warm stock/broth. Bring to the boil then simmer gently for 45 minutes.
Once the lentils are cooked, blend quickly to thicken the soup. We recommend using a handheld blender, but you can also use a high-power blender. Only blend a third of the soup (with all the potato pieces) and mix the liquidised soup with the rest of the pan to make a thick and warming soup.
Drizzle some of the chive oil to add more flavours (blitz all ingredients together. Pass through a sieve if necessary)
Serve with a slice of gluten-free sourdough bread
Serving suggestion