This lentil and vegetable soup is a tasty, nutritious and comforting plant-based meal – and it is so simple to make!

It’s also cheap and a great way of using up vegetables before they go bad and you can also double this recipe (it freezes really well).

Ingredients:

• 2 medium onions
• 2-3 garlic gloves
• A splash of rapeseed oil (of the oil of your choice)
• Whichever vegetables you fancy, for example: 3 carrots, 1 courgette, 2 celery, 1/2 packet of mushrooms, 1 red pepper.
• 1 low salt vegetable stock cube
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 300g of red split lentils

Instructions:

1. Dice the onion and garlic (or use a garlic press if you prefer) then fry these in 1-2 tablespoons of oil until the onion start to become translucent.
2. Chop the rest of your vegetables then sauté until they begin to soften.
3. Add the lentils and cover with 450ml of vegetable stock.
4. Stir in the tin of tomatoes.
5. Simmer until the lentils are cooked (you may need to add some extra boiling water to make it the consistency that you like, you can also add your favourite herbs and spices).

5 Variations Using This Dish:

1. Soup – by either blitzing this with a hand-blender (you may need to add some extra water, you can also add milk or coconut milk to thin it out a bit) or keep it as a ‘chunky style’ soup.
2. Lentil bake (one of my favourite meals!) – scoop the unblended soup mix into a casserole dish, top with breadcrumbs, seeds and cheese then bake this until the cheese turns golden.
3. Plant-based shepherd’s pie – add Worcester sauce (or a vegetarian alternative), top with mashed potato and cheese, then bake until the cheese is golden.
4. Lentil and vegetable curry – add curry powder & whichever spices you fancy (chilli, coriander, cumin can be nice) and serve with rice.
5. Pasta sauce – add some tomato purée and basil, then blend (optional) and serve with pasta.