With the recent storms we have been suffering, I have found myself heading back into the kitchen looking for easy, tasty comforting food.
Leeks are wonderful in a soup and in season in the UK right through until April. You can pick them up for a reasonable price in most supermarkets at the moment.
This curried leek and lentil soup recipe from britishleeks.co.uk, which combines the leeks with some lentils and some easy to obtain spices, is a great winter warmer for those days when the storm is battering down your door.
For more like this, take a look at previous recipes in the series here.
Curried leek and lentil soup
(Serves 4)
Ingredients
- 1 large leek, base and green end, finely diced
- Large thumb sized piece of ginger, finely chopped
- 1 green or red chili, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp plant-based butter or olive oil
- 4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 400g tin of chickpeas (240 drained)
- 1 tsp paprika (smoked or hot)
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp curry powder (optional)
- 550ml veg stock (water and a stock cube)
- 200g pack pre-cooked lentils (substitute for 150g uncooked red split lentils)
- 400ml full fat coconut milk
Method
- Start by finely chopping the leeks, chili and ginger, then add to a large pot with 1 tbsp of plant-based butter or olive oil, fry on a medium heat for around 6 minutes.
- Mince the garlic then add to the pot, cook for a few minutes before adding the chickpeas, paprika, cumin, turmeric and curry powder.
- Toss together then add in the vegetable stock, precooked lentils and simmer for 5 minutes before adding the coconut milk.
- Leave on a low-medium heat (you don’t want the coconut milk to bubble) taste testing along the way, season with salt and pepper.
- When it’s seasoned to taste, serve up and serve with fresh coriander, chili flakes, pepper and a tsp of the coconut cream from the tin.
- If you’re using dried lentils, add them to a pot of water, soak for around 15-20 minutes, drain and then wash again before adding to the soup. Add an additional 300-400ml vegetable stock as the dried lentils will still.