Curried Red Lentil and Tomato Soup

Red lentils are one of my favourite vegetarian proteins. I also like tomato soup and even the occasional curry. So combine all three into a single dish. Perhaps this Curried Red Lentil and Tomato Soup is not entirely a meal in its own right. It is certainly a very filling soup that will see you through at least some of the day. Print Curried Red Lentil and Tomato Soup Rating: 41 Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 3 hours Total Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes Yield: Serves 4 Using a slow cooker helps so much to develop the flavour of food. That seems to be particularly true when tomatoes are involved. This Curried Red Lentil Soup could be cooked on the hob. Yet the slow cook seems to develop a much greater depth of flavour. Ingredients 125g/4oz split red lentils 1 medium onion 1 large carrot or several smaller ones 1 can chopped tomatoes 2-3 cloves Garlic 1 vegetable stock cube ½-1 teaspoon curry powder or a similar amount of curry paste Sea Salt Ground Black Pepper Coriander Leaf and Bread to serve Method Put the split red lentils into a fine sieve then rinse well. Put into a pan then cover with water and bring to the boil on the hob. Reduce the heat and cover. Allow to cook for around 15 minutes until the lentils begin to soften. While the lentils are cooking prepare the remaining ingredients. Start by setting the slow cooker to high and adding in the oil. Then spoon in the curry powder or paste to let the flavour develop as it heats. Peel and finely dice the garlic then add it in with the oil and curry mixture. Stir well to mix so that the flavours can develop. Peel and thinly slice the onion. If the carrot is fresh then it just needs to be washed in cold water. If the the skin looks tough then peel. Slice thinly or grate. Both work but give a slightly different finish. Add carrot and onion to the slow cooker pot and mix well so they are coated by the curry. Keep on the heat for 10-15 minutes so that they begin to soften a little. Pour in the can of chopped tomatoes then add three canfuls of water. Using the can for a measure both gets the last of the tomato out and cleans it. Much better to put a clean can into the recycling. Crumble in the vegetable stock cube then add salt and pepper to taste. Use too little at this point because the final amount can be adjusted at a later stage. Cover the slow cooker pot then cook on high for around an hour. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for a further two to three hours. It can be left cooking for longer if necessary though. Just add in a little extra water if the soup seems to be getting too thick. Taste then adjust the seasoning if the soup seems to need a little more salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with freshly chopped coriander then serve with fresh crusty bread. Notes Like with many slow cooker soups, I prefer to start this the day before I intend to eat it. Then allow to stand overnight in a cool place for the flavours to develop. In the morning then the slow cooker can be set to Low so that the soup is then ready to eat on your return from a busy day. Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin 2.2 http://experimentalchefs.com/curried-red-lentil-tomato-soup/ copyright Experimental Chefs