Tomato and Puy Lentil Soup - a comforting bowl of goodness
This is a great stew to make when there is a chill in the air. It’s full of fibre and plant protein and it’s so satisfying and warming.
The recipe that inspired this dish no longer exists online. The original recipe contained Worcestershire sauce which isn’t vegan. I opted for a vegan Worcester sauce instead. But I found I preferred to add some heat instead so I starting adding hot pepper sauce. And now I tend to add tabasco sauce. But you could just add some chilli or Cayenne pepper or Aleppo pepper if that’s what you have to hand.
I often advise playing around with the herbs, spices and seasoning you add to a dish. And this is definitely one of those dishes. Because many different herbs and spices combinations work great with this dish. Which is basically a sort of mirepoix, tinned tomatoes, stock or water, seasoning and lentils. If you like this you won’t get tired of it. You just change up the recipe every so often.
Also, a great thing with this recipe is how you can use up any leftovers. For example, you can thicken it up with some tomato puree, add some sliced mushrooms, add a bit of soy sauce and maybe a bit more spice. Then top with some creamy mashed potato and grated cheddar cheese. Bake for 30 minutes at 180° C. And you’ve got a yummy veggie shepherds pie. Or use vegan options for a vegan shepherds pie.
I really love this recipe. It’s tasty, nutritious and so versatile. Give it a go.
Tomato and Puy Lentil Soup
Yield: Serves 4
Suitable for: Gluten-free diet
Ingredients:
- 200g Puy lentils, rinsed & drained
- 1 medium-sized onion, minced in food mixer, or diced small
- 2 celery sticks, minced in food mixer, or diced small
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 x 400g tin whole plum tomatoes
- 2 large garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp Paprika
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp dried basil
- ½ tsp tabasco sauce
- some dillisk, washed, drained, sliced - optional
- 1.5 litres water or stock
- salt & freshly ground black pepper
Instructions:
Make the mirepoix
Heat a little oil in a deep saucepan. Add the onions, celery, carrot, salt and black pepper and stir in well. Cover the pan and leave to cook on a gentle-moderate heat for 5 minutes.Make the tomato soup
Mash up the tinned tomatoes before adding to pot. Stir them into the pot with the garlic, paprika, thyme, oregano and basil. Stir around well, then cover and leave to cook for 5 minutes. Next, add in the water or stock, and the seaweed, if using. Turn the heat up high and bring to the boil.Cook the lentils
With contents of the pot boiling, add in the lentils. Stir around well and let boil on high for 10 minutes. Then reduce the heat to moderate, stir in the tobasco sauce and leave to simmer for 30 minutes or until the lentil are all cooked. Puy lentils, more so than other lentils, retain a little bite, but they shouldn’t be at all hard when cooked.- If you want to thicken up soup a little, you could blend half of it with a hand blender. I don’t think it would work all smooth but it will be very thick if you blend half of it. Though honestly while I used to do this, these days I find it thick enough as is without blending.
Enjoy!
