C’est moi! Yes, your prodigal sweet-toothed blogging friend has finally returned after what has proved to be a wonderful yet insanely busy summer. My thanks to all those who have read/written/stayed tuned… and my humble apologies for the extended and unforseen period of absence. This year has flown by! Autumn is here, and its pretty colours and increasingly colder days hail my favourite time of the year for making, baking, cooking and cosying up.
And what is autumn without delicious homemade soup? I am happy to kick off my short series of autumn-inspired blog posts with this hearty lentil soup recipe (my personal fave for 2013!)…
DELICIOUS GREEN LENTIL & VEGGIE SOUP
Makes approx. 5 liters
INGREDIENTS
A couple of tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
3-4 carrots* (depending on size), peeled and chopped
3-4 celery stalks (depending on size), peeled and chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1.5 tsp salt
2 small tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
6 dl green (or brown) lentils
2 tsp dried thyme
2 small bay leaves
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 l water (plus more if needed)
8 organic vegetable stock cubes (1 stock cube per 500 ml water, or as per directions to make 4 l of liquid stock)
3-4 teaspoons red wine vinegar
*pumpkin & sweet potato would be lovely too!
DIRECTIONS
- Heat a large soup pot over high heat. Add the olive oil, then onion, carrots, celery, garlic and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Turn heat to low and sauté the veggies for about 5 minutes until they are lightly caramelised. Add the tomato and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Add the lentils, thyme, bay leaf, pepper and remaining 2 teaspoons salt. Add the water and stock cubes, bringing the soup to a boil and skimming and discarding any foam that collects on the surface. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the lentils are tender.
- Stir in the vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If desired, the soup may be thinned with additional water or stock to achieve a lighter consistency. Serve hot… with a yummy toasted sandwich, if you like!
*This soup freezes and defrosts perfectly!
*Recipe very closely adapted from this one, originally found at marthastewart.com and sourced from Mad Hungry, September 2010.
