Apricot, Carrot, Red Lentil & Rosemary Soup

This is a pimped version of a soup that my mother in law made religiously when I first met my husband. It’s a perfect winter store cupboard soup without a lot of faff, but a heap of flavour.

Vegetarian

Vegan

Gluten Free

Wheat Free

SERVES:6-8

INGREDIENTS:

2 medium white onions peeled & chopped into chunks
2 stalks celery washed & chopped
2 cloves garlic peeled & grated or finely chopped
4 stalks rosemary ripped off stalk & finely chopped
20g fresh ginger peeled & finely chopped
1 small orange zested
40ml olive oil enough to coat the bottom of the pan
1tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
150g dried apricots thinly sliced
5 large carrots washed, peeled & chopped
150g red lentils washed & drained
1 litre water
2 veg stock cubes (I use Knorr)
Salt & pepper

METHOD:

In a heavy bottom soup pot, heat your oil over a medium heat. Add your onions, celery, garlic, ginger, orange zest & rosemary all at the same time. Gently sauté until the ingredients are coated in the oil & the onions softened without colour.
Add the ground cumin & coriander, stir through until all the onions are totally coated, stir for a few minutes until you start to get a good aroma from the pan.
Add the apricots & carrots, stir through again until coated in the spices, be careful at this stage that the apricots don’t stick or burn to the bottom of the pan. Add the lentils, give another good stir. Add the water & stock cubes, use the wooden spoon to make sure no lentils or apricots are stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Turn the heat down a little & let the soup simmer for about half an hour until the carrots are soft enough to blitz. While cooking stir occasionally to check the lentils are not sticking to the bottom of the pan, if they are turn the heat down a little.
When you are ready to blitz, squeeze the juice from the orange in & blitz until smooth, you will see the colours of the lentils, carrots & apricots come out now. Taste for seasoning. Add salt & pepper, if the soup tastes a little bitter add a wee sprinkle of sugar or some maple syrup to taste.
I love serving this with a handful of chopped coriander but it’s also great on its own.

Kj's TIPS:

Keep to a medium heat throughout the whole cooking process or the lentils or apricots might burn to the bottom of the pan.
Fresh sage or thyme work really well in this soup too instead of the rosemary.
The fresh ginger can be replaced with a few cubes of crystallised ginger thinly sliced instead.
If you are not a fan of smooth soups make this chunky, just chop the veg & apricots small enough for bite size bits & you will need to make sure your garlic, herbs & ginger are very finely chopped. You just won’t get the vibrant colour from the blending process.

STORAGE