So this lentil soup is another of the nursery kids favourite and (whispering voice) – Don’t tell anyone, but it contains a lot of yummy vegetables. It’s a very good recipe for these evenings when you actually don’t really feel like cooking, putting a lot of effort in or it is pouring down with rain. Basically, it’s a really good staple food. Also, it helps to use up the lentils you bought during the first lockdown, because you wanted to be really healthy and something that might be described as “artisan mum”.
In general, lentils are an amazing food, because they are an excellent protein source and contain high amounts of vitamin B, iron, magnesium and zinc. They are what you would call complex carbohydrates and therefore satisfy your hunger for longer and don’t let your blood sugar spike as much as for example white rice. Personally I am not a massive fan of soup in general, but this is one that I cook at least twice a month.
Both ingredients list and method are easy and you’ll be able to cook this without prior experience. For a big pot of soup for a family of four or around ten hungry toddlers you’ll need 300g of red lentils, 1 large white onion, 3 potatoes, 6 carrots, 2 sticks of celery, 2 cloves of garlic and any other vegetables you might have in the fridge that don’t look their best anymore – like celeriac, swede, parsnip and so on. In terms of spices you have full artistic freedom, but I quite like a tablespoon of a warm curry, like madras and a small amount of chilli. If you have very heat sensitive kids, a spoon of paprika will do just as well. Other than that you’ll need a bit of oil, some salt and tapwater.
This soup is gluten free and vegan, which makes it an ideal allrounder.
Soak your lentils in cold water. The easiest way to do this is to wash them under slightly running cold tapwater and prepare your vegetables in the meantime. That’s an easy task, scrub all your veggies and cut them into chunks. Your kids could help with that, as the veggies don’t need to be particularly pretty or uniform.
Add your vegetables and a small amount of oil to a large pot and fry the vegetables until they are slightly roasted. Make sure that they don’t burn. Add your spices and fry them for a minute. The heat will release the natural oils and the flavour will be spread more equally. Pour a litre and a pint of water over your vegetables and add the red lentils. Adding salt to water with lentils in it will let them cook slower, but with red lentils it usually doesn’t make a huge difference, so add a generous teaspoon of salt and put a lid on your pot.
While cooking you might see a foam on the top of your soup, caused by small amount of saponins in the lentils, a natural plant component to fight off pests. You can remove the foam with a spoon, but it’s edible and harmless. If anything, according to some people, removing the foam makes the lentils less bloating – yet it doesn’t make a huge difference, as you’re just about to eat a big load of them.
Let your soup cook for roughly 25-30 mins. If it reduces down too much, just add more water. Finally, blend your soup with a stick blender. Season it to your liking and serve it.
As mentioned before, it’s a huge hit in the nursery – and lentils are super healthy and nutritious.
Jana Jarrett Nutrition 