Soup Series 2: Chilli chickpea and red lentil soup

This is the second soup recipe in my soup series that I have decided to do over Winter. The first was roasted butternut squash and sweet potato chilli. This is another healthy soup, which is tomato based and thickened by lentils. It's packed full of spice and has a kick from the chilli. If you are not a fan of chilli, you can always leave them out. The flavour of this soup makes me think of Morocco. It's weird because I've never been, but it is exactly what I imagine the local food to be flavoured like. 

Ingredients

1 onion

140g red split lentils

850ml/1.5 pints vegetable stock

400g tin chopped tomatoes

400g chickpeas

1 chilli*

Chilli powder/flakes*

Cumin

handful of coriander

olive oil

greek yoghurt to serve

*If you do not like hot food, then omit the chilli and chilli powder/flakes.

Dice your onion and then heat some olive oil in a frying pan (use a large frying pan if you have one as you will be adding all ingredients into here). On a medium heat, add in the onion and start finely chopping up the chilli. After a minute of the onion cooking, sprinkle in some cumin over the onion as below. If you are using chilli flakes, add a pinch in now. After another minute, add the chopped chilli in. 

Whilst you allow to cook for a further 2-3 minutes, prepare your stock. I add 1.5 pints of boiling water to 2 crumbled oxo cubes. After your onions have had about 5 minutes in total, add in the lentils, stock, and chopped tomatoes and bring to the boil (if you do not have a large enough frying pan, transfer into a saucepan). If you are using chilli powder, sprinkle in as much or as little as you wish now, and mix in. The lentils now need to cook, so simmer for approximately 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Whilst this is cooking, drain and rinse your chickpeas. 

The contents of the pan will thicken and become deeper in colour over the 15 minutes. When the lentils have softened, they are cooked. Add in half of the chickpeas and cook for a further minute.

It is now ready to be blitzed. Add into a liquidizer, food processor or a bowl if using a hand mixer. Whizz until smooth. It will be a lovely deep orange rusty colour.

Add back into your pan and add in the remaining chickpeas. Chop up a small handful of coriander and add in. Mix the soup whilst it reheats gently. 

To serve, place a teaspoon of greek yoghurt in the centre, top with some coriander leaves and grind some pepper over the top.

 

I love how this soup contains whole chickpeas in as it mixes the texture up. A delicious great healthy warming soup, which definitely didn't last long in my household.

Watch out for the third soup of the series!