Once I came up with this lentil veg soup recipe a few years ago, I stopped worrying quite so much about the amount of veg my children were eating (or were not eating!).
It is brilliant for little ones as the thickness of the soup combined with squares of bread makes it easy to eat independently, full of goodness and lentil based so nice and filling. It also freezes and brilliantly and defrosts quickly so I always have a few containers of this in the freezer and can whip up a healthy, wholesome meal for my kids in 5 mins for those emergency moments!
It is quick and easy to make (even easier if you use frozen veg!) and can be made vegan if needed too. It is also highly unidentifiable in terms of what it contains and therefore is affectionately referred to as either ‘mummy’s soup’ or ‘orange soup’ in our house with a ban on the words ‘butternut squash’, ‘onion’ or ‘sweet potato’ so the kids don’t refuse it based on veg content!
- Melt a matchbox sized piece of butter (or large spoonful of coconut oil if you want to make it vegan/dairy free) in a large pan.
- Add a roughly chopped onion and fry off for 5/10 min.
- Add 2/3 medium sized sweet potatoes, chopped into relatively small pieces (or a bag of frozen sweet potato) along with a medium sized butternut squash (chopped up). Again, this could be substituted for a bag of frozen or even carrots!
- Give it a good stir and then add enough water to cover the veg, a stock cube (any will do) and two good handfuls of red lentils, cover and simmer till the veg goes soft (depends on how small the pieces are chopped but I leave it for about 45 mins). Check after 15 mins, give it a stir to make sure the lentils aren’t sticking and add a little more water if the lentils have absorbed it.
- Whizz up with a hand blender!
What I love about the soup is that you don’t have to be exact and can substitute ingredients. The red lentils are the key here to give it a good consistency and texture.
I make a large batch each time and make sure there is plenty to freeze too!
