Red Wine and Garlic Lentil Soup.

This soup is my entry in the annual super soup challenge hosted by Running with Tweezers.

The soup is rich and thick and reminded us of christmas stuffing (errr, in a good way I promise!).

It’s based on recipe from “The Cooks Encyclopedia of Soups” by Debra Mayhew. I’ve simply added the red wine and rice vinegar.

And as Thomas said when he finished eating it “It’s a keeper!”

lentil-soup.jpg

I challenge anyone who has yet to experiment with lentils to make this dish.

ingredients

  • 1 cup of red lentils (rinsed, they don’t need to be soaked.)
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsps of olive oil
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tsps of dried oregano
  • 6 cups of vegetable stock
  • 1/2 tbsp of rice vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tbsps of red wine
  • chunky sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Put all the ingredients in a pot except for the vinegar, wine, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then return to a simmer. Simmer for around 40 minutes. Add the vingear, wine, salt and pepper and serve with crusty bread.

Versatile Red Lentil Pasta Sauce

If you’re afraid of lentils but intrigued by them at the same time, then now might be the time to give cooking them a go.

Red lentils give this pasta sauce a nice thick, smooth taste. Best of all it’s extremely quick and simple to make.

lentilpastasauce.jpg

(Thanks to Healthy Food Magazine for the recipe).

Red Lentil Pasta Sauce

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

  • red lentils, 1 mug, uncooked
  • one onion
  • oil, 2 tablespoons
  • garlic, 2 cloves, chopped
  • tinned tomatoes, 2 x 400g tins, chopped
  • tomato paste, 2 tablespoons
  • sugar, 1 teaspoon
  • dried basil, 2 teaspoons – add more or less to your taste
  • Salt and pepper

Bring a large saucepan of water to boil. Pour in the lentils and stir to ensure they do not stick to the base of the saucepan. Boil the lentils for 8-10 minutes or until soft.

Heat the oil in a medium pan and saute the onion and garlic until soft.

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, and herbs. Stir in the lentils.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, and simmer until flavours develop, around 15 minutes.