Tomato And Lentil Soup

I invented this one all by myself. It's lovely and smooth, and freezes well. You can use different herbs in this if you prefer, such as perhaps basil and oregano.

Serves 3-4

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 tsp stock powder
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 75g (3oz) split red lentils
• 1 medium carrot (75g, 3oz), peeled and grated
• 1 400g (15oz) can tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and black pepper
• pinch each of dried thyme and dill, or other herbs

1. Saute the onion in stock made with the stock powder until browned, then add the garlic and cook for a minute.

2. Add the red lentils with 750ml (1 ½ pints) water and bring to the boil. Simmer briskly for 15-20 minutes, adding more hot water as needed, until the lentils have begun to break up.

3. Add the carrots, tomatoes and bay leaf. Season with salt and black pepper, cover and simmer for at least 30 minutes.

4. Remove bayleaf and puree (if you don't like tomato seeds, now would be the time to sieve the soup to remove them). Add the herbs, adjust the seasoning, reheat if necessary and serve.

Kake's (Vegan) Cookery Site - http://www.earth.li/~kake/cookery/
This page added 16 Mar 1998 (last altered 11 Sep 1999) - comments and questions to Kake L Pugh (kake@earth.li).