Recipe: Tomato, red lentil and vegetable soup

Also less kindly known as the clear my fridge of vegetables soup!

I really felt like a nice hearty soup and this one fit the bill perfectly. It was filling, had protein and lots of hidden vegetables and as an added bonus, got rid of some vegetables that were slightly wilting in my fridge drawer.

It's very versatile, so substitutions and additions would still make a tasty end product.

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
200g sliced mushrooms
500g sweet potato, peeled and chopped
half a jar of pasta sauce (or substitute a tin of diced tomatoes)
4 cups water (if using the pasta sauce) or stock (I use Vegeta stock powder to make mine up)
1/2 cup red lentils
1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar (optional, for added sweetness)

Method:

1. Start with a lug of olive oil in your pot. Add onion and garlic then stir until fragrant and softened. Add mushrooms and stir until the mushrooms are softened.
2. Add chopped sweet potato, red lentils and the pasta sauce/water/stock.
3. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes until the sweet potatoes are tender.
4. Blend until smooth, and return over low heat. Season with salt, pepper and the balsamic vinegar, then serve!

Serves 4, generously.

Tomato, lentil and vegetable soup

I served mine with some chilli dukkah on the top as I had an open packet and felt like a little bit of crunch. Some chopped fresh shallots would also be delicious. I also had a loaf of olive sourdough handy, which was perfect for soaking up the leftover bits of soup in the bowl (because I'm classy like that!).

Now that it's officially Winter, are you craving soup yet?