Homemade Chunky Vegetable and Lentil Soup
January 18, 2018
There is nothing more satisfying than a homemade, chunky soup full of vegetables and all things nutritious. I prefer my soups with a bit of a kick so chilli flakes and paprika is always something I add to my soup to give it that extra oomph. Besides, a little bit of heat in the form of spice is always a good way to heat the soul in this cold weather.
This soup takes less than 30 minutes to make and is the perfect base for other, more adventurous soups that involve perhaps other vegetables and even meat. I went with carrots, red onion, yellow pepper, celery stalks, sweet potato and green lentils but you could mix it up by using red or brown lentils, chickpeas, beans, butternut squash, swede and white potatoes; the list is endless. That's another good thing about soups, you can make them as personalisable to your taste buds as you'd like.
The vegetables don't have to be immaculately chopped. In fact, I find the more unevenly chopped the vegetables, the more rustic and hearty it looks. It is such an inexpensive thing to make too and I didn't even miss the meat because of how filling the lentils were.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 red onion
- 1 yellow pepper
- 3 carrots
- 3 stalks of celery
- 1 sweet potato
- 1 cup of green lentils
- 800ml of vegetable stock
- 1 teaspoon of garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of dried mixed herbs
- 1/4 teaspoon of chilli flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon of paprika
- Black pepper
- Oil
Instructions
- Heat a pan with an oil of your choosing on a low heat. I personally use olive oil.
- Whilst this is heating up, chop up the red onion, yellow pepper and celery then peel and thinly slice the carrots.
- Add all to the pan.
- Sauté for 5 minutes until golden brown.
- Add the spices and stir, followed shortly by the chopped up sweet potato and green lentils.
- Add 800ml of vegetable stock and combine thoroughly.
- Turn up the heat until it begins to simmer and then lower the heat to a medium heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Taste and add more spice if needed according to taste.
- If too thick, add a little more vegetable stock and serve.
- I personally served mine with a wholegrain seeded roll and butter.
- Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for 5 days and a simple reheat on the hob with added vegetable stock will mean another satisfying meal.
What do you like to use in your soups? Let me know in the comments below.
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