Smoked Tomato & Red Lentil Soup

This is one of my all-time favourite store-cupboard-ingredient recipes, and as the temperature drops, now seems like the perfect time of year to share it with you.

This soup recipe one of the easiest and most frugal things you can make. It's also pretty good for you: Lentils are high in protein and fibre, which means they'll help keep you feeling full. Tomatoes are packed full of lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that can help protect against cell damage. Lycopene is absorbed more efficiently from cooked and processed tomato products than from fresh tomatoes.

By using smoked paprika as opposed to smoked bacon or pancetta, this recipe's suitable for vegetarians and vegans, and it’s oh so warm and comforting.

I like to make up a big batch and freeze in individual portions so it’s on hand for a last-minute lunch when needed. Feel free to adjust the quantities to make the amount you require.

Makes 4 large bowlfuls

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, peeled and chopped

• 1 tbsp rice bran (or other cooking) oil

• 200g dried red lentils

• 1 can chopped tomatoes (approx. 400g)

• 1 tbsp smoked paprika

• 1 tbsp liquid vegetable stock (or 1 stock cube)

• 700ml boiling water

• Salt and pepper

Method

• Make up the stock by combining the liquid stock (or stock cube) and boiling water in a jug. Stir until the concentrated stock has dissolved.

• Fry the chopped onion in the oil over a medium heat, until it begins to soften.

• Add the red lentils and the smoked paprika to the pan and give them a good stir. Then add the chopped tomatoes and the hot stock, and bring to a gentle simmer. Continue to stir, to make sure the lentils don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

• Turn the heat down, cover and leave to simmer for 30-35minutes, until the lentils are tender and the soup has thickened.

• Add salt and pepper to taste, stir, then turn the heat off and leave the pan to cool slightly.

• Use a stick blender to blend the soup to a smooth consistency and reheat before serving.

Nutrition

	Per 100g	Per serve (330 g)
Calories	70.8 kcal	245.1 kcal
Carbohydrate	10.4 g	35.9 g
of which sugars	1.5 g	5.3 g
Fat	2.0 g	6.9 g
of which saturates	0.7 g	2.3 g
Protein	4.8 g	16.7 g
Fibre	1.0 g	3.5 g