Lentil and Vege Soup

This is another great winter warmer - really a meal in itself! Someone enjoyed it enough to ask for the recipe, so I decided I would blog it. Photos will come next time I make some.

I like my soups hearty and this one you could almost eat with a fork. Lots of veges and lots of flavour, a little on the Moroccan side. I didn't write it out as I made it, so you may need to adjust the flavours to suit. As with most of my soups, they are pretty rough in the amounts and even more forgiving toward any changes. You can adjust it to how you prefer.

Ingredients:

2 small onions sliced
4 short cut rashers of bacon, chopped into small pieces (optional (omit if you want it vegan) - could also use half as many full rashers)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
A large "thumb" of ginger, grated (about 2-3 tsps)
A long red chilli, chopped finely (more or less depending on how spicy you like it, or just remove the seeds!)
2tsp turmeric
2 tsp cumin powder
2tsp coriander powder
1tbsp smoked paprika
1/2-1 tsp fennel seeds (optional)
1-2 sticks of celery sliced
1 large carrot sliced
About a cup of sweet potato, diced (will pretty much cook down, just to add thickness and sweetness)
375g bag of green/brown lentils
1-1/2 cup of cooked kidney beans*
Around 400g can of crushed tomatoes (I have been using Ardmona with no salt or sugar added)
1-1 1/2 litres of water
2-3 tsp of Massel chicken style stock powder
1-2 handfuls of coriander leaves, roughly chopped
Greek yogurt

* (I cooked the kidney beans separately as I felt the colour would darken the soup a little too much. You could also use tinned beans or chickpeas. If you use dried chickpeas, my experience is they take much longer to cook, so would need to be cooked separately for about an hour.)

Method:

Before you start, get the kidney beans boiling in plenty of water in a separate pan - they need about 40+mins. Doesn't matter if they are not completely cooked before adding them to the soup, as they will continue to cook in it. In a large heavy based saucepan, cook the onions and bacon in about a tablespoon of coconut oil (or olive) on medium heat until the onions are clear. Add ginger and garlic and other spices and give a quick cook until fragrant (careful not to burn them - I prepare the veges earlier so they are ready to toss in). Toss the veges and lentils in to coat with the spices and then add enough water to cover the lot and the crushed tomatoes. After the soup has been cooking about 1/2 an hour, add the rinsed kidney beans. Check the water level and add more as necessary - the lentils will soak up a fair bit. It is now a matter of testing/tasting to check that the lentils and kidney beans are soft and adjusting the salt (if you didn't use bacon, you will probably need more) and other flavours to your liking. When you are happy, add the coriander (just before serving) and mix well. Serve in bowls with a good dollop of yogurt and crusty bread.