Lentil Soup

 

I love soup, a meal in a bowl served with bread, simple satisfying food.

This soup is loved by children, full of flavour and a few hidden carrots! It is also great for school lunches, lots of goodness packed in to their thermos!

This recipe makes 4 litres, enough to serve 10-12 depending on your bowl size and whether you choose to water it down a bit! I always freeze half, it freezes really well and gives me an occasional night off!

Ingredients

2 ham hocks

1 onion, chopped roughly

1kg carrots, peeled and chopped

splash of olive oil

400g/2 cups red lentils, rinsed and drained

salt and pepper

Method

In a large stock pot or pressure cooker, place the ham hocks and add 2.5litres water.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour if using a stockpot. In a pressure cooker bring up to pressure and cook for 30mins.

Drain with a sieve over a large bowl or jug to catch all of the stock.

Once the hocks have cooled, strip off the meat, chop finely and set aside.

In a large pan, a  6 litre pan works well, warm a splash of olive oil and add onions and carrots, cook until onions are soft.

Skim any fat off the stock, make the stock up to 3 litres with water, add stock to the onion and carrot mix, stir and add the lentils.

Add the hock meat and bring up to the boil, simmer gently for 30-40mins when the carrots should be soft and the lentils falling apart.

Allow to cool slightly and then, using a hand held blender, liquidize completely. If using a liquidizer let the soup cool right down, soup splashes really burn!

Season well, we enjoy lots of pepper in this soup.

Serve with some nice crusty bread.

For a vegetarian version, omit the hock and use vegetable stock, add 2 teaspoons ground cumin and 4 teaspoons ground coriander while cooking the onions and carrots.

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