Winter vegetable and lentil soup (vegan)

Chef

Greenwich Pantry

Themes

Advice on freezing

One-handed chopping

Swallowing difficulties

Summary

In this recipe, we’re going to make a vegan-friendly soup that can be made in a big batch and then frozen to eat later. We’ll also have some tips on changing the consistency for anyone with swallowing difficulties.

Cost to make

Below are the prices for the main recipe and the alternatives. The first value is how much you would spend if you had to buy everything. The second is how much you would spend based only on the amount you used.

£5.57 / £2.10

All prices based on Aldi website taken on 6 December.

Ingredients

• 85g dried red lentils

• 2 carrots, quartered lengthways then diced (get estimated volume for buying frozen or tinned)

• 3 sticks celery, sliced

• 2 small leeks, sliced

• 2 tbsp tomato purée

• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

• 3 large garlic cloves, chopped

• 1 tbsp vegetable bouillon powder (question about salt levels)

• 1 heaped tsp ground coriander

Methods / Notes

Chop your carrots, celery and leeks.

You can set these aside and take a break if you need.

Rinse your lentils until the water runs clear.

Tip all the ingredients into a large pan.

Pour over 1½ litres boiling water, then stir well.

Cover and leave to simmer for 30 mins until the vegetables and lentils are tender.

If you want to thicken it, remove between one third and one-half of the soup and blend this. Then stir it back into the rest.

Ladle into bowls and eat straightaway. Or you can ladle into small containers and leave to cool, freezing once it has cooled.