Spicy Lentil Soup



A regular reader of the blog from North Lanarkshire (George) is an excellent soup-maker apparently, so I said I'd share my recipe for spicy lentil soup which takes its inspiration from Spain.


I made some really nice soup the other day - a spicy lentil soup the star ingredient of which is smoked paprika from Spain - the hot or 'picante' variety which is widely available in Scotland these days. 

Here's the recipe if you'd like to give it a try

Ingredients

3 red onions
3 potatoes peeeled and roughly chopped
3 carrots peeled and roughly chopped
3 sticks of celery peeled and roughly chopped
3 or 4 cloves of garlic
1 500g bag of red lentils
3 bay leaves
1 tin of tomatoes
3 tablespoons of olive oil
3 teaspoons of smoked paprika
3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
1 can of haricot beans
1 can of butter beans
2 litres of water or vegetable stock
1 big handful of fresh parsley - chopped
Salt and pepper

Method

Pour the olive oil into a big hot pan
Add the onions and garlic and sweat down for five minutes
Add the rest of the chopped vegetables and stir in to the mixture
Add the smoked paprika and keep turning everything over a medium heat
Add the lentils do the same for another couple of minutes
Add the stock or water and the chopped tomatoes
Add the bay leaves, parsley and allow everything to cook down for thirty minutes on a gentle simmer
Stir in the beans
Mash roughly with a potato masher - or blend if you like a smooth soup
Add the balsamic vinegar
Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper

Serve with some more fresh parsley and some nice crusty bread on the side - you can add a chopped or sliced chorizo sausage - for a non-vegetarian version.

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