Another soup to keep you going throughout our colder months. This one is super easy and has room for a lot of time saving cheats! Which means you can knock this up quickly without mess and lots of chopping! Obviously freshly made veg stock is best, but who makes it on a regular basis?! If you do then great ( I don’t ) I use veg bullion powder that I think works perfectly well in soups, you can use whatever you want.

I’ve been making this soup for years, if I remember rightly it started life as a purée from a Greek cookbook and I’ve adapted it into a soup. This is the basic version that I use mostly, but you can add chilli and use leeks instead of celery, you could also change it up by adding Dijon mustard. I add extra lemon to mine once served. It doesn’t need a topping but add one if you want. Just crusty bread or griddled sourdough drizzled with olive oil and rubbed with garlic works really well. It’s very healthy and one my kids always liked too. I should mention that this makes a thick soup as in baby food constituency! If you like it thinner you will just need to add more stock until it’s to your liking. Apart from a few recipes I’ve never been keen on watery soups! 

Remember to rinse your lentils well before adding them to the stock, everything goes in together and it takes about 20/30 mins.

As I mentioned it’s a great soup to get the frozen onions out and the jar of ready chopped lazy garlic. In fact the only fresh ingredients you’ll need is the celery and the lemons – how easy is that! Use fresh onions and garlic if you want but this can be a real lazy hug in a bowl. I always use Greek extra virgin olive oil, I tend to do this with everything I cook. Italian oil with Italian food, Spanish oil with Spanish food, it just feels right to me, they do taste different – honest!!!!

This recipe is for four, it keeps well for 4-5 days and freezes well so it’s worth making a big batch.

Okay so gather together your store cupboard/fridge/freezer goodies and enjoy the soup.

You will need: A pot/saucepan big enough to hold all the ingredients.

• 500g Red lentils
• 1 1/2 litres veg stock ( more if you want it thinner )
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 200g celery chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Bring the stock to the boil, add the lentils, celery, onion, garlic, and simmer over a low heat for 20-30 mins stirring occasionally.

When it’s ready whizz it up with a stick blender. Before serving add the olive oil and lemon juice.

Ta-Dah!

Enjoy, if you try it let me know, lots of people tagged me with the Celeriac & Apple soup and with the Butternut Squash soup on Instagram which was great! 

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