Simple Soup for Supper

There is something about making soup which I find fantastically relaxing.  I don't know if it's all the dicing and then bubbling, or just the sheer satisfaction of making something so yummy in such a simple way.  I can't remember the last time I bought soup, and since meeting me, Mr B has had to put up with a great deal of soup eating on a cold Saturday lunchtime.  It warms the very cockles of your heart! :-)

The first soup I ever learnt to make (learnt?  Is this really the right word?!) was carrot and coriander.  It is still my fall back, and I always seem to have a hundred weight of carrots in my fridge for which I can simply find no other use!  Recently, I have adulterated the simple onion, carrot, stock, coriander recipe to include lentils and I pretty much always now start of by using bacon lardons for the extra flavour when I cook the onions.

Yesterday, there were no bacon lardons, but I did have a big pot of homemade chicken stock which I used instead (yes, yes, Oxo cubes are my mainstay when it comes to stock).  The stock had bags of flavour and when I first added it to the pan I got terribly worried in case it would be more of a chicken soup with carrots and lentils thrown in!  Well, the good news is that it didn't and I wound up with yet another lovely soup.  Served with a swirl of cream across the top and homemade bread it went down a storm...

Carrot and Lentil Soup (serves 4)
1 onion
150g dried red lentils
600g carrots
2 1/2 pints liquid (I made this up of one pint of (strong) chicken stock, and water for the rest)
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper
cream to serve

1) Dice your onion and add to a big pan with a glug of oil.  Cook on a medium heat with the lid on until translucent.
2) Whilst your onion is cooking peel and dice the carrots.  You want the pieces to be relatively small so that they both cook and blend quicker.  I know people who grate carrots for soup, but I hate clearing away bits of stra carrot afterwards, so chopping is the way forward for me!
3) Add the carrots and cumin to the pan.  Stir until mixed with the onion then replace the lid for a couple of minutes.
4)  Add the lentils and your stock (and water if using) then season and bring to a simmer.  Leave to cook for around 25 to 30 minutes, checking you still have enough water in the pan.
5) Once the carrots are soft, remove from the heat and use a blender or stick blender to liquidise the soup.  Make sure it is well whizzed, or else the heavy bits will sink and you end up with a layered soup!  You should end up with a relatively thick, hearty soup.  If it's too thick, simply add more liquid.

If the soup has cooled then return it to the heat, otherwise serve it.  You can make this in advance, and reheat when needed.  If there is any left over, just transfer it to the fridge and eat within a couple of days.

This is such a simple, simple recipe that it almost seems pointless writing it out but I thought I would share it!