Lentil Soup

The first time I made this soup we were on the cusp of summer and even though I've made it regularly since then I've been so excited to sit down with a big bowl of it in winter. The temperature hit -10° a few days ago, I doubt we'll be eating much except this soup and nutella (v. popular in France, did you know. The Teacher was going through a jar a week when we first met) for a long time yet.

Recipe- adapted from Kitchen by Australian Marie Claire 

250g red lentils, washed in cold water
2 carrots, grated (grating carrots is my least favourite kitchen activity ever, I nearly always lost some finger. It's handy if you have someone you can convince to be your minion for 15 minutes)
1 brown onion, finely diced (conversely, I love dicing onions so much. If you are not that way inclined/have carefully applied makeup, you can use your minion as before)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1L vegetable stock (you can add more later if you think your soup is too thick)
Optional: 1 or 2 teaspoons mild chilli powder if you like a kick. The teacher does; I do not.

What to do:
1. Heat some oil in a big saucepan and gently fry the onion with the garlic until translucent.
2. Add the carrots, cumin, lentils and stock (and chilli if you've decided you do like oral torture).
3. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer for 25 minutes or until the lentils have disintegrated. Give it a stir once or twice to make sure the lentils aren't sticking to the bottom.
4. Eat it/freeze it/give it to a friend.



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The bowl is much prettier than the soup