Lentil and Winter Vegetable Soup

Gordon – Head Chef at Sodexo – is back with a lovely warming soup recipe, to keep you going through the cold days.

To make 10 portions, you will need:

• 500g of red lentils

• 5 vegetable stock cubes

• 2.5 litres of cold water

• 1 large onion

• 1/2 a swede

• 2 large carrots

Method

1. Using a thick bottomed pan, add the water and the stock cubes and gently heat up until the stock cubes have dissolved.

2. Then add the lentils, and give them a very good stir - this stops them sticking to the bottom of the pan.

3. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring regularly.

4. For the vegetables, you can do one of three things:

   1. You can add them, once the soup has boiled, and then blend the whole lot if you want it smooth

   2. Or blend the lentils after 25 minutes, and then add your veg to keep them chunky. Simmer till soft.

   3. The third way is adding the lentils and veg at the start, and not blending at all. This more rustic way is how I make it at home.

5. Anyway, for the veg, peel everything and dice the onions into 1cm cubes. Dice the swede and carrots into 2cm cubes.

6. Just adjust seasoning at the end, and that's it. Easy as easy can be. Enjoy!

You can do the same for vegetable broth, just substitute lentils with vegetable broth and add 20 minutes to the cooking time. Likewise, you can do the same with green and yellow split peas.