Hearty Red Lentil Soup
A hearty vegetarian soup recipe that comes to life in 10 minutes. Think red lentils, tomatoes, cumin and chilli flakes - topped with creamy natural yoghurt.
Introduction
There are few things more comforting than a big bowl of lentils or a warming bowl of soup. Combine the two and we’re talking comfort central. To keep this under 10 minutes, I’ve left the lentils a bit on the ‘al dente’ side. I quite like this chunky texture. If you’d prefer your soup to be more silky, cook the lentils a little longer and purée with a stick blender before serving.
Ingredients
| 185g | dried red lentils, rinsed |
| ½-1 tsp | dried chilli flakes |
| 1 tbsp | ground cumin |
| 400g | can tomatoes, chopped |
| natural yoghurt, to serve |
Method
Place lentils, chilli, cumin, tomatoes and 625ml water in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil.
Cover and boil for 9 minutes or until lentils are cooked to your liking.
Taste and season. Serve with a dollop of natural yoghurt.
Variations:
Dairy-free: skip the yoghurt and serve with a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Coconut cream will also work here, but will completely change the flavour profile – not necessarily a bad thing!
Different lentils: feel free to use other lentils; puy lentils are a favourite but brown lentils are also lovely. You’ll just need to simmer for longer: around 20 minutes.
Healthier: if you feel the need for some veg, add a handful of fresh or frozen peas or chopped broccoli with the lentils, or wilt in some baby spinach at the end.
Short on time? Replace the dried lentils with 2 x 400g cans of lentils and skip the water. Just bring it up to a simmer and it’s good to serve.
