Hearty lentil soup

An easy, satisfying soup for cold weather!

I'm not much of a soup person, but this is one of my favorite cold night dinners. It has protein, vitamins, and can either be a complete meal on its own or goes great with some crusty toast or a sandwich.

The texture comes out quite thick, a bit like a stew, so if you like a soup with more broth, either reduce the amount of lentils by one third or add another 250-500 ml of broth.

Peel and dice potatoes into 1-1.5 cm cubes.

Cut the cauliflower to bite size florets.

Rinse red lentils before adding to the soup.

Stir in cilantro and spinach to wilt after removing from the heat so they do not overcook.

This soup is also great blended. Just let it cool and pop it in your food processor, or use an immersion blender right in the pot. I usually blend it so it still has some texture, but it will blend to be completely smooth (if you cut out the salt and use a baby-friendly broth, this makes great baby food too!). I would recommend adding an extra 250 ml or so of broth if you are planning to blend it, otherwise it will be quite thick.

If you feel like dressing it up a bit, either for company or just for yourself, here's my favorite garnish idea for this soup: When preparing the vegetables for the soup, reserve a thin slice of potato and dice into mini cubes about 3 mm on each side and reserve some tiny cauliflower florets. Before serving the soup, sauté the vegetables on medium/high heat in a bit of vegan butter for 3-4 minutes until tender enough to eat and golden (leave them with some bite so they stand out from the soup). Season with salt and garnish soup just before serving.

Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic

2 cm of ginger

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp mild curry powder

1 1/2 tsp ground coriander

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 1/2 liter vegetable broth

250 g (1 1/2 cups) red lentils, rinsed

400 g white potato (about two medium)

1 head cauliflower

115 g (about 4 large handfuls) spinach

1 bunch fresh coriander/cilantro

Salt and pepper to taste

Lime (optional)

Method:

1. Peel, de-germ and mince garlic. Peel and mince ginger

2. Heat oil in a large pot on medium heat and add garlic and ginger. Cook 2-3 minutes until fragrant

3. Add spices and stir 2 minutes

4. Add broth and lentils. Turn heat to high and bring to boil uncovered, then reduce heat and simmer

5. Meanwhile, peel and dice potatoes. Cut cauliflower into bit size pieces

6. Add potatoes and cauliflower to pot, cover and simmer until vegetables are fork tender, about 20 minutes

7. Turn off heat and stir in spinach and fresh coriander/cilantro

8. Serve with fresh, chopped coriander and a squeeze of lime

Serves 4-6

Notes:

This soup is also nice with a bit of a kick. You can either add a chili or chili powder when you cook the garlic and ginger if you want to add spice to the soup.