It's cold and I'm usually tired and lazy, and I'm still very much unemployed (so I'm cheap), and also I'm suffering some injuries right now, and I'm not very good at soups that aren't laksa or dumplings with noodles. So I've been trying to branch out, do some other things that aren't noodles in broth (which, we'll talk about another day) but which are still easy and delicious and good for me.
Anyway, this is a lentil soup I stole from a friend's partner. I don't know if mine turns out the same because I've changed it a bit but it's pretty delicious and it makes me happy on a cold winter's day.
I know it looks gross but it's super great. Souper Soup! (haha)
Lazy Lentil Soup
you will need:
2 cups of dried red lentils
1 brown onion
1 carrot
1 potato
1 stock cube
a chilli
about 2cm of fresh ginger, sliced (or a tablespoon ish of minced ginger)
about a tablespoon of lemon juice (a bit less if fresh)
lots of chilli flakes
salt and pepper to taste
a litre ish of water
what you do: rinse and drain the lentils. dice the onion and fry it in a little bit of olive oil. dice the carrot and the potato (you can peel if you want, but i usually don't bother) and when the onion has softened add them in. stir them around a bit and add the lentils and the chilli, chopped thin, and the ginger. add the stock and the water and bring to the boil, after which drop it and leave to simmer. just let it go for about half an hour, until the carrot and potato are cooked through and the lentils are super soft. while it's still simmering, use a masher to roughly mash it all. you can blend it if you want but i prefer it this way, it leaves it a little rough and filled with bits. add in some of the chilli flakes and all of the lemon juice, turn off the heat and let it sit for five minutes. serve sprinkled with more chilli, and salt and pepper. so good, so easy.