Carrot & Lentil Soup

Some soup on the menu today! Lentils are a great standby cupboard item as they contain lots of vitamins and nutrients and they really fill you up. You can use tinned or dried pre-soaked lentils and any colour will work. Unlike some of the other soups on the site, this one doesn't contain any potatoes so is kept on the lighter side and is a little more Summery. 

Serve with a slice or two of Weight Watchers whole meal bread and a little low fat butter, or 2 slices of wheaten bread such as Mc Cambridges. A couple of Ryvita crisp bread also go very well as an alternative. 

The following recipe makes two generous lunch/dinner portions or four starter portions.

Ingredients

• 1½ pints of boiling water

• 2 vegetable stock cubes. (Preferably low sodium stock cubes). Crumbled

• 100g onion. Peeled and chopped

• 2 cloves of garlic. Peeled and finely chopped

• 100g celery. Washed, topped, tailed and roughly sliced

• 500g carrot. Washed, topped, tailed and roughly sliced

• Freshly ground black pepper and a little salt

• 1 x 410g (265g drained) tin of lentils. Rinsed and patted dry. Or dried lentils. Rinsed and soaked as directed

• 100ml low fat milk

• a small bunch of coriander. Washed and finely chopped for garnish

• a little black pepper

Method

1. Heat a large pot on a medium to high heat. Add the boiling water and bring it back to the boil. When boiling, add the stock cubes. Stir to combine and reduce the heat to medium and allow it to simmer away.
2. In a separate frying pan, heat to a medium to high heat and add the butter and the onion and fry for 3-5 minutes until softened.
3. Next add the garlic and continue to fry for a further minute or so. When done, transfer the onion and garlic to the simmering stock.
4. Next, add the celery to the frying pan and stir fry for 5 minutes or so until softened. You should season the celery with a little salt and black pepper. Transfer to the stock when done.
5. Next, add the carrots to the pan and stir fry for 5-10 minutes. (You can add a spray of Fry Light One Cal spray oil if the carrots don't seem to be doing anything in the pan). Again, season lightly and when done, transfer the carrots to stock.
6. Stir the stock well to make sure the additional ingredients are combined. Bring the stock to the boil and once it's boiled for a minute or so reduce the heat, and allow to simmer for 20 minutes or so. You should partially cover the pot with a lid or plate.
7. Next add the lentils and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes.
8. Next add the milk and three quarters of the coriander and blitz with a hand blender or in batches in a food processor.
9. Serve in warmed bowls and garnish with the remaining chopped coriander and black pepper.