Soup weather has well and truly arrived. As I type, it is bucketing it down and I even *gasp* have put the heating on! Meals like this soup – which to be fair is bordering on becoming a stew – are perfect for this time of year.
The idea for this recipe came from enjoying one of my favourite healthy living ‘cheats’, the Skinny Goan Chicken and Lentil Soup from Covent Garden. It’s delish, and the spices in it help to make it taste really full of flavour and therefore more filling.
I decided to come up with my own similar version using harissa paste which is one of my fave things ever. If you haven’t tried it before, it’s a middle eastern paste made with chilli, oil, garlic and aromatic herbs. I use Belazu Rose Harissa paste which seems to be available in most supermarkets. I have a couple of recipes on the blog using harissa such as my harissa chicken salad, but as well as pairing it with chicken, it goes really well with chickpeas, and in fact you could easily switch out the lentils for those in this recipe.
I made mine in my slow cooker which makes this super easy recipe even more easy to make, but it could also be made on the stove too.
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2 medium sized carrots
- 2 peppers
- 1 carton of chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup / 250 ml chicken stock
- 1-2 tbsp harissa paste (depending on how hot you like it!)
- 1 carton of lentils
- Fresh coriander or parsley to serve
- 1. Chop the carrot and pepper into small pieces.
- 2. If making in a slow cooker, place the chicken breasts (whole), the chopped veg, chopped tomatoes, harissa paste and stock into the slow cooker (give it a quick stir) and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours. Remove the chicken breasts from the slow cooker and shred with forks, then mix back into the soup along with the drained lentils.
- 3. If cooking on the stove, chop the chicken into small bite-sized pieces and add to a large pan along with the veg, chopped tomatoes, harissa paste and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until the chicken is cooked through and the carrot is tender. Add the lentils and warm through before serving.
- 4. Serve with fresh herbs.
- For a more soupy texture, add more chicken stock.
As I said, this soup is so thick it’s almost a stew, so if you’d prefer, you can add an extra cup of chicken stock to create a more soupy texture.
Recipes like this really are my style. Healthy, seasonal, full of flavour and simple to make!
Have you tried harissa paste before? Have you busted out the slow cooker yet?
Looks yum! I love a stew-soup dish in the autumn/winter, they’re so warming and filling. I haven’t really used harissa much, will have to experiment more! Lx
Thanks Lou! Def try harissa in more things, it adds so much more flavour!
This recipe sounds good but I gave a question, hope you don’t mind.
You say to use a carton of lentils but don’t give any indication of how big this is. I buy my lentils dried and then cook them myself as I need them as I find this more economical so what I’m really asking is, what does your carton of lentils weigh please?
Thanks Jackie
Apologies, it’s a 400g carton of lentils, I think it’s about 250g once drained. Hope that helps!
We are holding off with the heating but the sofa blanket is out now! Although we are having chilly mornings and very hot days, so clothes are hard to choose right now- yesterday I was fine in the morning in boots and a big coat, but by the afternoon it was really warm. Although I am not complaining, I love autumnal weather when it is sunny.
Haha James and I were just talking about sofa blankets, I think we’ll need ours out now!