I couldn’t decide which to post..the lentil soup or lentil salad. The weather here in France finally decided for me. The trees are in bud, the tulips are in bloom, the daffodils are nodding their heads and the strawberries are sweet. But we still take to the streets with our coats and scarves en walk head first into the wind. I’m not complaining…like my wine maker neighbor says; “C’est normal”. It gives me a little longer to enjoy a bowl of soup, easy and quick and filling.

Roasted pepper and red lentil soup

• 2 red peppers
• 200 g red lentils
• 500 ml vegetable stock
• red wine vinegar
• 1 onion
• olive oil
• parmesan cheese
• parsley/coriander
• 2 bay leaves
• tablespoon red pesto
• salt and pepper

1. Remove the seeds from the peppers, cut into strips and place in an oven pan, drizzle with olive oil. Roast at 200 degrees C for 30 minutes or until tender.
2. Sauté the chopped onion in some oilive oil until tranlucent, add the vegetable stock, lentils and the two bayleaves and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Add the peppers and simmer for another 5 minutes.
3. Let it cool down, remove the bay leaves  and puree with a handmixer until smooth and creamy. You can also press it through a fine sieve if you want it smoother.
4. Taste for salt and pepper, add some red wine vingear for a little tartness and I add a tablespoon of red pesto for flavour.
5. Serve with shaved parmesan and decorate with some parsley or coriandre leaves.
6. Optional: Stir in some cream for a richer version.
7. Alternative: The peppers can be halved, then roasted with the skin side up and the skin can be easily peeled off after roasting.

Suggestions:

• You can try and add more, or larger red peppers and lessen the red lentils. You can add up to 4 or 5 large red peppers. Add a little bit more stock if it gets too thick.
• Don’t overcook the lentils, cook them until just tender.
• Instead of the red pesto, which is usually a sundried tomato paste, use only a heaped TBSP  concentrated tomato paste or even more, to add color to the soup.
• Add some chopped ripe red tomatoes or a small can of chopped tomatoes to make it more liquid.
• If you don’t like thick  soups, try the following recipe where nothing is blended:                                                                     Red lentil, carrot and pancetta soup… just add the red pepper and leave out the carrot or play around with the recipe.

Serves 6

This is an entry for WTSIM, hosted by Jeanne at cooksister.

A quick, simple and healthy Monday night dinner. Followed by fresh kiwi’s for dessert. This soup, like all other soups, can be either served blended smoothly with added cream/milk for a creamy version, or served chunky and rustic, topped with croûtons.

Broccoli, leek and tomato soup

• 5 leeks
• 1 shallot
• coconut oil
• 4 tomatoes
• a big head of fresh broccoli
• 1 cube organic vegetable stock
• 500 ml hot water
• freshly grated nutmeg
• salt and pepper
• freshly squeezed lemon juice
• extra milk/cream

1. Peel and finely chop the shallot. Sauté in a pan with some coconut oil/olive oil.
2. Peel and clean the leeks, add to the shallots.
3. Rinse the broccoli, add to the pan along with the leeks and shallot.
4. Cut a cross in the skin on the top of the tomatoes, leave in boiling hot water for a minute, remove and peel off the skin. (I leave the skin on) Chop and add to the vegetables.
5. Dissolve the stock cube in the hot water, pour over the vegetables and let simmer gently until tender.
6. At this stage, you can either leave the soup chunky and just taste and rectify seasoning, add some lemon juice and grated nutmeg.
7. For a creamy soup, blend the vegetables with a blender until smooth, add some lemon juice, salt and pepper and grated nutmeg to taste and pour in some milk/cream to your liking. I use 2% milk for a lighter version.
8. Serve with a crusty bread and a sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg.

                                           Serves about four people