Winter is coming they say……and by heck are they right. Temperatures are dropping faster than Eddie the eagle in the Winter Olympics and snow is already settling in areas of the UK.
What I like about this time of year is snuggling up with the family, heating on and blankets all around.
I remember these times as a kid at my nana’s, however there wasn’t any central heating but a roaring coal fire. The dancing embers, crackles of the coal as they heat and crack. These were the some of the good memories of my childhood.
I also remember sat around the fire eating homemade food made by nan, the sort that ‘warms your cockles’ as they used to say.
To try and bring back some of those memories I decided to go for a nice warming soup. As we have the Covent Garden soup book it was a no brainer to delve deep, flick through the glossy pages and find a soup that I knew would be enjoyed by my family. Being a fan of spicy soup (my wife and I), I decided to go for something with a kick, tamed down slightly for the kids.
The decision made was spiced carrot and red lentil soup. Once made, and simply too, it held a lovely burst of orange and the smell had the hint of spice and sweetness from the carrots.
We quite like our soups really thick too so when blended I only needed to add a small amount of stock to loosen it, yet enough so we could still stand our spoon up.
Served with a warmed petit pain with lashings of butter we all thoroughly enjoyed it and with the leftovers it made a perfect lunch to warm up the next day.
Spiced Carrot and Red Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 Small onions diced
- Pinch Nutmeg
- 2 tsp. Mild curry powder
- 12 Carrots 10 roughly chopped, 2 fine dice
- 2 Vegetable stock cubes Made to 750ml
- 80 g Red lentils
- 2 Sachets coconut cream I used Pataks 50g sachets
- 75 ml Single Cream plus extra for garnish
- 2 tbsp. Coriander finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and then fry the onion until soft and translucent. Add the nutmeg and curry powder and fry for a further minute.
- Add the stock and carrots, bring to the boil then simmer for 20 minutes or until the carrots are soft and cooked through.
- Blend the soup until smooth.
- Return to a medium heat and add the lentils and remaining carrots. Simmer for 20 minutes more. You may want to put a lid on as the soup can spit at times.
- Add the coconut cream and coriander if using and simmer on low for a further 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, season to taste and serve with a drizzle of cream and warm bread.
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