spiced lentil soup with tomato

Spiced lentil soup with tomato, warming on a cold day and the perfect way to get more vegetables into our diet, working towards our 5-a-day!

Spiced lentil soup is a favourite in our house. My family all love making soup, consequently we are prolific soup makers.

I was taught me how to make a great bowl of soup by my parents. Soup was a staple part of my diet growing up.

We had a huge vegetable garden and as a result we ate fresh seasonal produce, hence lots of soup.

The smell of Scotch Broth bubbling on the stove-top still evokes memories of my Dad cooking soup on a Saturday night for Sunday’s lunch. Ask my kids who makes the best bowl of broth and they still say Granda!

A great way to your 5-a-day!

Hence to this day I continue to make lots of soup on a weekly basis. After all is there a better way to load in extra vegetables for our 5-a-day?

I find soup, particularly if you plan to blitz it to smooth, is a great way of setting soup into a child’s diet. You can disguise pretty much any vegetable once its been blended!

My youngest daughter is challenging to cook for (I’m putting this very politely). She loves this spiced lentil soup, as there was a time when she would only eat soup if it was orange.

I’m glad she settled on this colour as it’s surprising just how much soup you can make that has a good orange hue to it! However, we were all getting a bit fed up with basic lentil so I decided to spice things up a bit. That’s when I created this spiced lentil soup.

A great lunch or dinner dish?

Given the choice for lunch, more often than not I have a pan of soup at the ready. Furthermore, soup is the perfect food to serve on a night where I’m juggling dinner children’s activities. It’s always homemade as I can’t abide tinned soup.

How to make lentil soup?

This soup is a basic tomato and lentil soup which some added spice. As with many soups I cook, I like to start with a simple base of onion, carrot, celery and garlic. This gives a good flavour base to the soup.

Chilli and ginger:

To this base I then added fresh root ginger and chilli for some added depth and a little fresh heat.

However, if you don’t like chilli heat then simply leave the chilli out of the soup.

Dried spices:

The spice flavour in the soup is further enhanced by the addition of dried spices: ground cumin; ground coriander; ground turmeric; smoked paprika and a cinnamon stick.

These spices add warmth to the spiced lentil soup, but without any harsh chilli heat.

If there is a spice that you don’t like then simply leave it out or substitute it with something else!

Add the dried spices to the vegetables to cook out for a minute or two, to allow the spices to release their aroma.

Adding tomatoes:

You can use fresh tomatoes in this soup, however, for ease I always use tinned plum tomatoes.

Add the tinned tomatoes, red lentils and vegetable stock to the soup and cook until the lentils and vegetables have softened.

Once the soup has finished cooking, blitz to smooth using a stick blender or food processor, season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Adding a creamy element to lentil soup:

A creamy element can be added to the spiced lentil soup therefore softening the spice. Simply stir through a spoon of yogurt before serving.

If following a Vegan diet, use either coconut milk or a Vegan coconut yogurt.

Can you prepare this soup ahead of time?

This is a great prep ahead dish. Once the soup has cooked, cool it down and place it in a container with a tight fitting lid and pop it in the fridge. It will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge.

Can you freeze spicy lentil soup?

Like most soup, spicy lentil soup freezes really well. Once cooked, cool the soup down and place it in a container and pop it into the freezer. It will keep in the freezer for 3-4 months.

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Additional recipe suggestions:

Soup is a great way of getting more vegetables into our diet. If you like this recipe then why not try some of our other Vegan soup recipes:

• Spicy Pumpkin Soup
• Leek & Barley Broth
• Leek & Potato Soup
• Curried Chickpea & Vegetable Soup

For some great hints and tips on how to make a great bowl of soup, have a read of our 20 Simple Soup Recipes post. This features some delicious soup recipes for you to try!

spicy tomato & lentil soup

A creamy tomato and lentil soup with a good punch of spice, perfect for crisp autumn days when the weather is just that bit chilly outside.

5 from 12 votes

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Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 1 hr

Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins

Servings: 6

Calories: 183kcal

Author: Lesley Garden

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• ▢ 1 onion (diced)
• ▢ 2 carrots (diced)
• ▢ 2 sticks celery (diced)
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic (crushed)
• ▢ 5 cm root ginger (grated)
• ▢ 2 red chillies (de-seeded and chopped)
• ▢ 1 tsp turmeric
• ▢ 2 tsp ground cumin
• ▢ 2 tsp ground coriander
• ▢ 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ▢ 1 cinnamon stick
• ▢ 400 g tin plum tomatoes
• ▢ 150 g red lentils (washed and drained)
• ▢ 1 ltr vegetable stock
• ▢ salt & pepper (to season)

Instructions

• Heat the sunflower oil in a large soup pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery and saute gently for 5 minutes taking care to soften but not brown the vegetables.
• Add the garlic, ginger and chilli to the pan and continue to saute gently for a further 2-3 minutes.
• Add the dry spices to the pan and stir well to combine. Cook for 1 minute until the spices start to release their aroma.
• After a good rinse under cold water, add the lentils and the tinned tomatoes to the pan along with the vegetable stock. Bring the soup to the boil before turning down to a simmer and covering with a lid. Stir the soup from time to time to avoid it sticking. The soup should cook for 40 minutes or until the lentils have softened.
• Once cooked, blitz the soup with a stick blender. Season to taste and serve when ready.

Notes

If you wish to add a creamy element to this soup, you can stir through either a spoon of natural yogurt or if following a vegan or dairy-free diet, a spoon of coconut milk, just before serving.

Nutrition Facts

spicy tomato & lentil soup

Amount Per Serving

Calories 183 Calories from Fat 45

% Daily Value*

Fat 5g8%

Sodium 109mg5%

Potassium 616mg18%

Carbohydrates 27g9%

Fiber 10g42%

Sugar 6g7%

Protein 8g16%

Vitamin A 3865IU77%

Vitamin C 31.8mg39%

Calcium 69mg7%

Iron 3.8mg21%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

• Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only •

Course : Soup

Cuisine : British

Keyword : Simple, vegan, vegetarian

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