It’s official; the Soup Kitchen will return on Monday 1 June! Can’t wait until winter for delicious soup? Why not give this warming winter favourite from Staff Café Chef Manager, Housien Koussan, a go at home? This soup can be made two days in advance and kept in the fridge as this adds intensity to the flavour of the soup.

Curried lentil soup

Serves: 5
Cooking time: approx. 45 minutes

Ingredients
30ml olive oil
15g fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 small white onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 medium tomato, crushed (or 100g crushed tinned tomatoes)
1 tsp tomato paste
250g green lentils, washed and soaked
150g frozen diced vegetables (fresh is much better, but using frozen can be a handy time saver)
10g turmeric powder
10g ground cumin
25g curry powder
5g chilli powder (or to taste)
2L vegetable stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve:
1 bunch small bunch of coriander, chopped
1 lemon, zested
Honey yoghurt

Method
In a medium pot heat the oil, and sauté the onion, garlic and ginger. Then add all the spices and cook for a further three minutes.

Now add the lentils and sauté for three to four minutes.

Add tomato paste and crushed tomatoes and cook on low heat for a further three to four minutes.

Add the vegetable stock.

Bring to the boil and then turn down the heat to simmer and cook until lentils are soft (you will need to check and add more stock if needed to adjust the consistency to your liking).

Once lentils are soft, add vegetables simmer for a further five minutes.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, sprinkle with chopped coriander, lemon zest and a dollop of honey yoghurt.

Chef’s Secret Tip: For a thicker consistency, remove half the soup from the pot and blend with a stick mixer (or in a blender) and then return and mix with the remaining chunky soup. You will need to allow the soup to cool slightly before blending, so this step is easy to add in if making in advance.