Who doesn’t love a good soup in winter to warm up with? This soup is rich in flavour and full of vegetables. Perfect winter dinner or lunch.

Serves: 4
Prep: 15 mins Cook: 60 mins

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• ½ large sweet potato, peeled and chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• pinch of pepper
• 8 cups vegetable stock
• 420g can crushed or diced tomatoes
• 2 cups dried red lentils
• 1 lemon, juiced
• pinch of chilli flakes
• 4 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh coriander, chopped

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat
2. Add the onions, celery, carrot and sweet potato
3. Cook until tender for about 3-4 minutes
4. Add the garlic, ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, paprika, cinnamon and pepper
5. Continue cooking for another 2-3 mins, stirring continuously
6. Add the stock, tomatoes and lentils, stir well and bring to the boil
7. Simmer uncovered on low heat for about 45 mins to 1 hour, stirring occasionally
8. Remove the soup from the heat and ladle half of the soup into a large mixing bowl
9. Carefully blend half of the soup in a separate container with a blender
10. Return the blended half of the soup back to the pot and mix well
11. Stir in the lemon juice, chilli flakes, parsley and fresh coriander, cover and cook for 10 mins
12. Serve hot with a bread of your choice

Notes

Add 1 to 2 cups water if soup is too thick when blending.

If your children are still learning to like soup, serving with bread can help. They can satisfy their hunger with the bread and maybe even dip some in a small (not overwhelming) bowl of soup.