When Peter and I started to cut down on calories, but also during the time where I was really sick with thyroid trouble, we formed an unhealthy lust for canned soup. Chock full of vegetables and legumes, they weren't too hard on the budget or our waistlines (there are far healthier and lower calorie meals out there, but nothing that gets quite as convenient as this).
Now that I'm healthy, I really have no excuse to let our little family rely on the canned variety anymore. This style of soup has been on the to-cook list for a while, and is a lackluster, fewer-ingredient tribute to the one my mother made me when I first went vegetarian as a child, which also boasted chopped fresh tomatoes, big chunks of mushroom, peas, and a variety of lentils.
The recipe below serves four to six (go with the former if you have the appetite of a lumberjack!) Fortunately, this recipe freezes really well, however it is best to let sit in the fridge overnight, to further reduce liquid before freezing.
Lentil Stew
3 tsps oil
1 small onion
2 garlic cloves
2 carrots
3 potatoes
2 cups brown-green lentils
1.5 L of hot water
1 tbsp veggie stock
Start by chopping the vegetables and garlic into small chunks.
Turn the hotplate on to medium-high heat and add the oil. When heated, add the onion and garlic, and fry, stirring occasionally, for three minutes.
Add the carrot and potato pieces, stir for one minute before adding the remaining ingredients, and turning the hotplate to the highest setting to boil. Once boiled, drop the temperature to medium-low.
Simmer for thirty-six to forty minutes, stirring at least every five minutes to make sure nothing sticks.
Leave to cool slightly before serving.
Alternatively, if you have a Soup and Go (or equivalent device - a blender that cooks - ), you can pretty much just halve this recipe, chuck all the ingredients into the blender, and leave to cook (they usually take less, around half an hour).
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