It is time for a non-flour recipe; so, I have decided to post something that is very good with a freshly baked slice of sourdough bread. This soup is another firm favourite; it is a hearty, warming soup – great on cold days and perfect for a light lunch. It uses some ‘spices’; these are very variable – use those you like. Also it doesn’t have to be parsnip – we simply like parsnips; you can make this with carrot or butternut or pumpkin or … Enjoy experimenting.

Also worth noting, this recipe is both gluten-free and vegan.

As this soup uses dried lentils (I use green), the recipe starts the night before cooking the soup. So, if you have decided at 11am to make soup for lunch then either don’t use this recipe or adapt it using tinned lentils (which don’t need soaking overnight).

Ingredients

• 250g green lentils (dried)
• 300g onions (roughly chopped)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• A pinch of salt
• 2 cloves of garlic (optional)
• 2 cm peeled ginger (optional)
• 2 teaspoons of cumin powder
• 2 teaspoons of coriander powder
• A pinch of turmeric
• A pinch of chilli flakes
• 500g parsnips (or other vegetable) chopped
• 1 litre of vegetable stock
  and
• another small pinch of chilli flakes to serve

The evening before you want to make the soup you will need to soak your lentils. Weigh out 250g of green lentils and follow the instructions on your packet. I place mine in a large bowl and cover with water, rinse and refresh the water before bed and rinse again in the morning. I then boil my lentils in fresh water for 10 minutes before rinsing again and then they are ready for the soup.

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Place the onions, oil and a little salt into a large pan and slowly cook the onions.

These will take at least 10 minutes – probably longer. Keep them cooking until the are both translucent and starting to caramelise on the edges.

Add in the garlic and ginger (I didn’t add ginger on this occasion because the local supermarket had run out) along with the powdered spices. Note: these are suggestions and ones that we like but can be adjusted to your preference.

Stir these in and cook for another couple of minutes.

Now add the parsnips and stir them through.

And, the semi-cooked lentils.

Stir them through and then add the vegetable stock.

Put a lid on your pan and gently simmer for at least an hour; I simmer mine for 90 minutes. Once cooked, the parsnip will be soft and the lentils will be completely cooked.

The soup is made – it simply needs blending up. If you want a fine texture, use a jug blender. However, we like the soup to have a little texture and like the consistency obtained using an immersion (stick) blender.

Blend until you get the consistency you want. We keep going until it isn’t changing any more.

And, it is now ready to serve. It keeps well in the fridge and is great to freeze.

The final touch is a few chilli flakes on top. Serve with crusty Sourdough bread. Yum.