Simple Lentil Soup

Hearty. Easy. Thrifty. Filling.

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Food painting artwork

30 x 30cm acrylic and oil pen on canvas. As the bay leaf is the key to this dish, it is also the subject of the artwork. If you have a bay tree you'll know that the leaves are so much richer, glossier and have far more character to their flavour than their dried equivalent. I wanted to try and capture the simplicity and depth of both the look and taste of the fresh bay leaf. A bit of pop fun seemed to be the best way to do this.

By the way, all the food painting artwork is available to own in the Official Art Store.

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The meatless meals recipe

This recipe is actually a two for one deal! There's the base recipe and a delicious variation. Both are incredibly simple and I quote, 'bloody delicious'. The bay leaves are essential.

500g/3 cups lentils
2 large bay leaves
6 cups stock
400g/2 cups natural yoghurt

For the variation, you'll also require
1 onion, chopped
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
the juice of 1 lemon



Pre cook lentils by boiling for 20-30mins until soft.  Strain and rinse. It's not absolutely necessary to do this step but if you are concerned about gas problems from eating lentils then this step is wise.

Put the lentils, stock and bay leaves (and onion, thyme and nutmeg) in a large pot and simmer gently for around 45 mins until the lentils have fallen apart and the bay leaf flavour can be tasted.
Remove the bay leaves and puree.
Add the yoghurt (and lemon juice. Stir the lemon juice in thoroughly before adding any yoghurt)

Makes 4 bowls.

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More vegetarian cookbook goodies

Need help with conversions? Download this handy dandy pdf of cooking conversion charts for every cooking measuring system I could find. It should make your life easier.

Want to check out more vegetarian dinner recipes? They're all in the Table of Contents.

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