Spicy Lentil and Tomato Soup

A delicious and hearty thick soup, an ideal lunchtime snack.

Ingredients

• 250g red lentils
• 1 can of tomatoes
• 4 small onions
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 2 carrots
• 1 stick of celery
• 2 red peppers
• 2 red finger chillies
• 1 tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp pimento
• 1 tsp salt
• large pinch of black pepper
• 8 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 litres of vegetable stock

Method

Halve and deseed the red peppers and place skin side up on a baking tray under a grill on maximum heat. Chop the onions, carrots and celery while heating the oil in a large saucepan (that can hold 3-4 litres of liquid) at medium-high heat. Keep checking the peppers while chopping the other vegetables and make sure they blacken evenly over their skins.

Add the onions to the pan and stir, after a few minutes add the balsamic. Once the onions have softened and most of the balsamic has evaporated, add the remaining chopped vegetables and whole chillies and stir. The peppers should be done by now; remove the blackened skin and dice the remaining flesh and add to the pan. Add the pimento and basil along with the salt and pepper and stir. After 5 minutes add the lentils and stir well. Reduce the heat and add the can of tomatoes. Cover and let the mixture simmer for a further 5 minutes.

Add the first 500ml of vegetable stock. The lentils will quickly absorb the liquid at the start. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low so the soup simmers gently on the hob. Add more stock 250-500ml at a time as needed. Simmer for 1½-2 hours.

Finally, set aside to cool and purée in a food processor. For best reults store overnight in the fridge to allow the flavour to develop.

Veggie Chilli (with Kidney Bean Marinade)

My chilli recipe has been evolved over recent weeks in an effort to increase the character of the dish.

Ingredients

The marinade:

• 250g soaked (or canned) kidney beans
• 1 medium red onion
• 4 large garlic cloves
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp pimento powder
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 10g 85% cocoa dark chocolate
• ½ tsp honey dissolved in 2 tbsp warm water

The base and sauce:

• 1 medium white onion
• 2 medium carrots
• 2 sticks of celery
• 1 green pepper
• 1 red pepper
• 400g can of chopped tomatoes
• 300ml vegetable stock

Method

Finely chop the onion and combine all the marinade ingredients in a large mixing bowl in the order listed and stir well. Cover and and set aside for at least half an hour.

Dice the onion, carrots, celery and peppers and add to a stir-fry pan with 4 tbsp olive oil preheated to a med-high heat and fry for 10 minutes.

Pour in the marinade and fry for a further 10-15 minutes until the mixture is quite dry.

Add the tomatoes in three batches allowing the mixture to return to the boil each time.

Add the stock in two lots allowing the mixture to return to the boil each time.

Simmer briskly for 15-20 minutes until the sauce has reduced and started to thicken.

Turn down the heat and simmer gently for a further 10 minutes until the sauce has thickened.

More Roast Vegetables

Another variation on good old roast veg – more traditional flavours this time.

Ingredients

• 2 medium parsnips
• 1 medium carrot
• 1 medium potato
• 1 stick of celery
• 2 spring onions
• 2-3 tbsp parmesan or gruyère shavings
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• ½ tsp garlic granules
• 1 large pinch of ground black pepper
• 2 large pinches of sea salt
• 1 pinch of dried thyme
• ½ tsp of sugar

Method

Peel the parsnips and carrot, then chop all the vegetables (except the spring onions) into rough chunks. Place in a pan, barely cover with cold water and add the salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for 3-4 mins. While simmering, mix the remaining ingredients except the cheese and spring onions.

Turn off the heat and drain the vegetables and place back on the hot ring and let them dry off for a minute. Chop the spring onions and add them plus the mix of oils, etc to the pan. Shake or stir the vegetables around to ensure all are well coated.

Pour the coated vegetables into a preheated casserole dish and sprinkle with the cheese. Place in a preheated oven at 180°C and roast for 45 mins or until the topmost vegetables are browned nicely and the potato is cooked through.

Roast Vegetable Casserole

Winter draws in and a wee winter warmer of root veg keeps out the cold nicely!

Ingredients

• 2 sweet potatoes
• 1 carrot
• 1 parsnip
• 2 sticks of celery
• 2 spring onions
• 6 brussel sprouts
• 4 cloves of garlic (preferably smoked)
• ½ a small onion
• 1 tbsp of honey
• A large pinch of pimento powder
• A small pinch of cayenne
• A large pinch of ground black pepper
• 100ml olive oil
• 100ml boiling water

Method

Peel and crush the garlic, finely chop the onion and combine with the pimento, cayenne, pepper and olive oil. Stir well and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Peel and chop the remaining vegetables to roughly the same size (1cm chunks).

Heat a pan over a med-high heat and pour in the olive oil mixture and, when it starts to fry, toss in the root veg and stir. Add the remainder of the veg after a 2-3 minutes. Dissolve the honey in the boiling water and pour into the pan after 3-4 minutes.

Preheat a casserole large enough for all the vegetables in the the oven. Pour the contents of the pan into the casseole and roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes until nicely browned on top.

Veggie Chilli

Another nice and quick dish that’s really tasty and full of goodness. It works great whether you make it fiery or keep it mild.

Ingredients

• 1 large onion
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 sticks of celery
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 green pepper
• 1 red pepper
• 1 can of chopped tomatoes (or 4 large vine tomatoes, chopped)
• 1 tablespoon of tomato purée
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon of cumin
• 1 teaspoon of coriander
• 2-4 of your favourite variety of chillies
• 1/4 teaspoon of smoked pimento powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper(optional)
• 1 tin of red kidney beans (or 250-300g of previously soaked dried beans)

Method

Chop the onion, chop the chillies (discard the seeds if a mild heat is desired) and crush the garlic while heating 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil in a 20cm wok (or similar) over a high heat.

Add the onion and garlic to the pan and turn the heat down a notch, also add the fresh chillies. Peel and chop the carrot and celery into similar sized pieces (smaller will cook quicker). Add the carrot and celery to the pan and stir through. Add the pimento (and cayenne, if desired).

Chop the peppers to similar size as the carrot and celery. Add the oregano, cumin and coriander now and give them a few minutes to cook in before adding the peppers. Boil up a kettle for a pint of vegetable stock and chop your tomatoes, if not using tinned. Now stir in the kidney beans. Add the tomatoes a few minutes after the beans.

For the stock, the method depends on what tomatoes were used. If using canned tomatoes less liquid is required, so just make a half pint of stock (still use the whole cube) and for fresh tomatoes make up a whole pint. Add the tomato purée to the stock and then pour in. Reduce the heat once it returns to the boil. It should take about 15-20 mins to reduce down giving a tasty chilli that’ll serve 3-4 people.

Serve with some rice cooked with saffron.