At this time of year theres nothing more comforting than a big bowl of hot soup! I’ve been making various versions of soup using red lentils for the last few years, but this incarnation is by far the tastiest one. It includes some special ingredients that give it that added nutritional boost so it’s even better for you at this time of year.
Those special ingredients include ginger, turmeric and coconut milk. Turmeric is so good for you, it’s health benefits coming from the curcumin compounds within it that give it that yellow colour. Curcumin is has powerful anti inflammatory and anti oxidant properties. Ginger is also known for it’s anti inflammatory and immune system boosting properties. The coconut milk adds some healthy fat to assist with the utilisation of nutrients.
- 1 tsp oil - I used ghee, coconut oil would also work well
- 1 large onion
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 inch piece of fresh ginger
- 1-2 tsp mild curry powder
- 3 stalks of celery
- 4 medium carrots
- 1 1/2 cups of dried red lentils (about 500g I think)
- 200 ml coconut milk
- Vegetable stock - enough to cover the ingredients - I use about 2 tsp Marigold Vegetable Bouillon with hot water
- Finely chop the onion and mince the ginger. Add the oil to a large pot and gentle fry the onion and ginger over a medium heat
- Add the turmeric and curry powder, followed by the chopped celery
- Chop the carrots into small chunks and add to the pan
- Rinse the red lentils in a sieve and add to the pan followed by enough hot vegetable stock to cover everything
- Simmer for about 30 minutes until the soup has thickened. Add the coconut milk
- You can leave it chunky, blend it smooth or do as I did and just blend half.
- Enjoy topped with some fresh coriander or parsley and a drizzle of coconut milk
This is such a colourful soup – it’s like a bowl of sunshine in dark January! The curry powder gives this so much flavour, something I think is really important when it comes to being able to stick at eating healthy foods.
This is a pretty thick soup which is how I like it, but if you’d prefer a thinner texture just add more vegetable stock or coconut milk.
What is your favourite soup? Are you a fan of red lentils?
Loving soups too and turmeric – its so good for treating allergies. Where do you get your coconut milk from?
I get organic from Sainsbury’s or Tesco. Unfortunately it’s not the best quality and the cans aren’t BPA free so I’ve bought some coconut cream to try making my own :-)
This looks gorgeous Laura – I was looking for a soup to do this weekend!!! Will let you know how I get on!
xx
Ooh yes let me know what you think!
This looks so good! It is anti-soup weather here right now 44 Degrees (111 Farenheit) but a great recipe to tuck away for winter ;)
Mmm sounds delicious. I love coconut milk in soup.
My favourite soup…ohh so hard. I love carrot and coriander…or a chunky tomato one…or butternut squash…
carrot and coriander is lovely, haven’t had that in ages!
I just made a red pepper lentil soup today, it was the first time I’ve made a lentil based soup in ages. This sounds so good!
I was actually craving this soup today after reading this post! And I saw Jamie Oliver make a sweet potato & chickpea curry with cauliflower rice last night – I think I feel a curry coming on!
mmm, great that JO is on the cauliflower rice wagon too!
Red lentils work so well in soups. Love how they break down and add body and creaminess :D
I love lentils and thick soup is always a winner for me :)
This sounds so nice – I’m making this soup next (have a huge batch of pumpkin soup to work my way through first!). My absolute favourite soup is leek and potato – even better with a cheese sandwich on the side – traditional fayre in my family :)
I made this the other day! It’s become one of my go-to soups! It’s not cold here yet (it’s 26c today!), but you can’t beat a good soup! It reheats well too, so it’s perfect for lunches!
So glad it’s one of your go to recipes! It’s delicious isn’t it :-)