Carrot & Lentil Soup

This was a quick "throw-together" soup because I wanted to use up some carrots.  It was so good that the bowls were taken away and emptied before I could get a photo!

Ingredients

Butter
1 onion - roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic - roughly chopped
3 stalks celery (including leaves) - roughly chopped
6 large carrots - roughly chopped
Ground cumin
Chilli powder
250g red split lentils
1 tin tomatoes
6 cups vegetable stock
Fresh parsley - finely chopped


Melt a small knob of butter in a large pan. Add the onion, garlic and celery and stir until onion starts to soften. Add the carrots and let cook for approx 5 mins.

Shake in a good sprinkling of cumin and chilli. Stir well until vegetables are covered in the spices. Pour in the lentils and stir until combined.

Add tomatoes and stock. Stir well and bring to the boil. Put a lid on the pan and turn down to a simmer for approx. 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

When carrots are soft and lentils are cooked, take the pan off the heat. Use a hand blender to blend until smooth. Season to taste.

Ladle into individual bowls and top each with a sprinkling of parsley.

We ate this with freshly baked cornbread muffins and a green leaf salad.

Enjoy!

Caryl ❤

Sweet Potato & Cauliflower Curry

It was time for another tasty and warming curry tonight and I had sweet potato and cauliflower available.  This is what I came up with.

Sweet Potato & Cauliflower Curry

Ingredients

1 onion - diced
2 large garlic cloves - finely chopped
1 inch (approx) fresh ginger - grated
Ground cumin
Garam masala
1 x 400g tin tomatoes
1 x 400g tin coconut milk
2 cups vegetable stock
1 large sweet potato - cut into cubes
1 small cauliflower - cut into small florets
1 cup frozen peas
2 tsp cornflour
2 tbs water
1/2 cup shelled pistachio nuts - roasted
1 bunch fresh coriander (cilantro) - roughly chopped


Heat a little oil in a large pan and gently cook the onion, garlic and ginger for a minute or so.

Add a good shake of cumin and garam masala.  Cook, stirring until nicely fragrant.

Pour in the tomatoes, coconut milk and stock.  Stir well and bring to the boil.

Add the sweet potato and cauliflower pieces.  Stir, cover the pan and turn the heat down to a simmer.  Cook for 15 minutes or until veggies are just beginning to soften.  Add the peas, stir and continue to cook for another 5 minutes or so.

Mix the cornflour and water together in a small bowl.  Add to the veggies and stir well.  Continue to cook for a little longer.

Stir in the nuts and most of the coriander, reserving a little for garnish.

Serve with brown basmati rice.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Chilli Con Lentils

I do love my lentils and the fact that they are full of protein makes them even better.  This is a delicious vegetarian chilli which should really be called "Chilli Con Lentejas", which translates to chilli with lentils, as opposed to "Chilli Con Carne" which is known as chilli with meat.

Chilli Con Lentils - or - Chilli Con Lentejas

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups French lentils (or Puy lentils)
2 bay leaves
1 small cinnamon stick
4 cups vegetable stock
1 onion - diced
2 large cloves garlic - diced (or crushed)
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chilli (or more, depending on how hot you like it)
1 tsp paprika
1 large carrot - chopped into evenly sized pieces
2 large romano red peppers - sliced into evenly sized pieces
1 400g tin kidney beans - drained and rinsed
1 200g tin corn
1 400g tin tomatoes
2 tbs tomato paste
1 tbs brown sugar
1 cup water
Fresh coriander - roughly chopped


Place the lentils, bay leaves, cinnamon stick and vegetable stock in a large saucepan.  Bring to the boil, then turn down to simmer for approx. 25 minutes, until lentils are cooked.

Meanwhile, cook the onion and garlic in a little oil, in a large pan for a minute, until the garlic becomes fragrant.  Add the cumin, chilli and paprika.  Cook another minute or so.

Add the carrot and red peppers.  Stir until well covered with the spices.  Pour in the cooked lentils, including any liquid.  Add the kidney beans, corn, tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and water.  Stir well until combined.  Bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked.

Serve in bowls, over rice.  Top with coriander.  You could also make a simple guacamole to serve with it.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Pumpkin, Leek & Kale Soup

Cold, wintry weather always calls for a warming soup at the end of the day.  The snow stopped me from going shopping today so I had to create something with veggies I had available and came up with this unusual, yet very tasty combination.

Pumpkin, Leek & Kale Soup

Ingredients

1 butternut pumpkin - cut into small chunks
3 leeks - roughly sliced
1/2 bag kale - roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic - crushed
Ground cumin
Chicken stock (I used home-made, but you could use stock cubes and water)
Lemon


Melt a knob of butter in a large saucepan. Add the leeks, garlic, pumpkin and a good spoon or more of cumin. Stir well and cook for a few minutes.

Pour in enough stock to cover the vegetables and bring to the boil. Pop a lid on the pan and turn the heat down to a simmer for approx 15-20 minutes, until pumpkin is cooked.

Stir the kale into the soup and let it cook for a couple more minutes.

Take off the heat and blend it all together.  (I use a hand blender.)

Squeeze half of a lemon into the smooth soup, stir and serve.

You can add shavings of parmesan, or a swirl of creme fraiche (or both).  I also serve it with In Caryl's Kitchen: Cornbread Muffins.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥