I came late to lentil party. I don’t remember eating them when I was little and as a result never really used them in my cooking. Then in my late 20’s, I developed a taste for Tarka Dal but that has been as far my lentil eating went. More recently, I have started to eat a puy lentil salad and a yellow lentil soup. Both of these are adaptions of things I ate at Tina’s, so I should both blame and thank her! The soup has the advantage of being cheap, easy to make and really tasty, I am more than a little obsessed with it!!

The recipe below is more of a guide than anything else. It makes a really thick soup, but if you like soup thinner then use more stock, if you prefer soup chunky don’t blend it! The same applies to the spices and the lime, I like it this way but don’t be afraid of adding more or using less.  I think it’s best served with seeds (my preference is the three seed mix of pumpkin, sunflower and pinenuts that I use in bread, and a spoonful of linseeds) and a dollop of natural yogurt. Although, I reckon some bacon crumbled on top or some ham would also be good additions, if you have to have meat too.

What

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons of cumin seeds

2 teaspoons easy ginger

2 large carrots, peeled and grated

1 large onion, diced

1.5 litres vegatable stock

150g yellow lentils

juice of 1 to 2 limes

How

1) In a medium sized pot, fry the cumin seeds and ginger in the olive oil until the seeds start to pop.

2) Add the carrots and onion and cook on a medium heat for a further 5 minutes or so

3) Add the lentils and stock and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes until the lentils are soft.

4) Blend the soup, adding the juice of the lime to taste.

5) Eat!