Spicy carrot & lentil soup 3 ways

Woke up feeling old, obese and poor. Something must be done before I turn into Kirstie Alley, a plus size Scientologist who married her cousin… At least she was married though right? Not that I want to marry my cousin, although he is very nice but unfortunately he’s already married… Look, I don’t want to marry my cousin! We’re getting off topic.
I think that’s enough talk of incest for one Sunday, lets talk about carrots. I always seem to end up with a ton of carrots in the fridge at the end of the month, so this soup is really good at using them up. Also, this recipe isn’t just cheap, it’s low fat, so this time next week I expect to look less like Kirstie Alley and more like Miranda Kerr please, thank you.
Although, eating the same old soup for lunch everyday makes me want to kill myself at the best of times, so I’ve managed to adapt the recipe throughout the week to help change things up a bit. I’ve made 3 of my favourite variations to try and keep it as exciting as possible (well, as exciting as lentil soup can be).

Spicy carrot & lentil soup 3 ways
Serves 4 / Hands on time 15 mins / Takes 35 mins / V Vn* ❄🌶
You’ll need: Hand blender or food processor
1 tsp rapeseed oil
1 large white onion, peeled chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
¼ chilli flakes
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric
8 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
4 handful of red lentils
1.5 litres vegetable stock, I use 2 Knorr stock pots
Additional extras: Sweet potato, a couple of free range eggs, fresh spinach, chickpeas and greek yogurt

Method
1. Add a tsp of oil to large heavy bottomed pot over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sweat for 5 mins with the lid on, adding a dash of water if necessary. Add the cumin, turmeric and the chilli flakes and continue to cook for a further 2 mins adding another dash of water if needed.
2. Add the peeled and roughly chopped carrots and cook for a further 5 mins before adding the stock and the lentils. Season well with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer for 20 mins.
3. Take the soup off the heat and blitz with a hand blender or food processor. Top with your chosen toppings and serve

Variation 1: Add a boiled egg, a chopped red chilli and some chilli flakes.
Variation 2: In a frying pan, heat a tsp of oil before adding a drained can of chick peas along with a crushed garlic clove. Add 100g of spinach one handful at a time and cook down. Season well with salt and pepper with every handful. Serve on top of the soup
Variation 3. Chop a sweet potato into wedges and toss in a tsp of oil. Place on a baking tray, season well and sprinkle with chilli flakes. Roast in an oven at 200°C/180°C fan/400F/gas mark 6 for 30 mins. Serve the cooked wedges on top of the soup with Greek yogurt.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V – Vegetarian.     *Vn – The base soup is vegan    Gf – I use Knorr vegetable stock pots because they are gluten free but other stock pots/cubes may not be. Always check the label. Please substitute wholewheat pasta for a gluten free alternative.
❄ The soup is suitable for home freezing once cooled. Consume within 3 months.