I cut this recipe out of a newspaper supplement recently as it reminded me of something a good family friend used to make. I was delighted with how well it turned out, and how easy it was to make (especially since I had lots of work to do on my embryonic kitchen garden today…). This will definitely become a staple. The cumin adds a lovely voluptuous spicy kick.
Lentil Soup, adapted from The Times ‘The Table’ supplement, 25 March 2010
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
1 red pepper
3 medium carrots
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
160g red lentils
400g tinned tomatoes
2 litres vegetable stock (I used bouillon powder)
salt and pepper
crème fraîche or yoghurt, to serve (optional)
Peel and finely chop the onion, garlic, pepper and carrots.
Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a low heat and fry the onion, garlic and pepper with the cumin until they start to soften. Add the carrots, lentils, tinned tomatoes and stock, and season with salt and pepper.
Bring to the boil and simmer, stirring every so often, until the soup is rich and thick. The original recipe reckoned 40 minutes, mine took took more like an hour – I did wonder at one point if the 2 litres of stock was a misprint as it didn’t seem to be reducing down, but it got there in the end. If your soup looks too thick (which I doubt), you can add a little more stock.
Ladle into bowls and make it pretty by adding a swirl of crème fraîche or yoghurt.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi,
Will try this one too. Making your other lentil recipe again tonight. But thought to mention a cookbook that I think you will really like. It’s my basic that I use whenever I need to make something delicious, simple and guaranteed to turn out right. John Pawson, the minimalist architect came out with a book a couple of years ago that is as stringent as his designs — that is, all is well tested, the flavors are pure and sharp and, well, you can tell a minimalist architect wrote it. It’s called Living and Eating. If you see it, take a look, I have yet to make a ‘dud’ from his book. Need to stir the lentils now.
Thanks for the recommendation Erika, I will definitely check it out. My shelves are already groaning under the weight of all the cookery tomes…but one more can’t hurt!
Hope you enjoy the soup, and glad to hear that the puy lentils have become a regular feature – aren’t they fantastic?!