We are wellllllll into the winter months here in Northern Ireland and soup season is upon us. I love when soup season comes around……..soup season and slow cooker season open up a world of menu options – the only problem is that you have to sacrifice spreadable butter season, but life’s about balance right?

To be honest, it kinda baffles me when people say they can’t make soup – it’s so easy! I understand that people don’t either know or have any interest in knowing how to cook extravagant meals, but soup is so quick, healthy and satisfying.Having a few good soup recipes in your arsenal, to me, is an essential – it means you can have something delish and wholesome on the table in about 30 mins and you can have meal prep for a few days ahead all sorted.

I have a range of soup recipes I’d like to share over the winter months, all of which are embarrassingly easy and this one is no exception to that.

It’s got a shockingly quick prep time, very few ingredients, a short cook time and a glorious eat time! You can have this one sorted and on the table in 30 mins and this recipe will make enough for 6 big bowls so it will do for lunch times for a few days.

I’ve flavoured this soup with tandoori spices, but a curry powder, tikka seasoning, jerk seasoning or any other kind of spice mix would also do – it’s just about getting some extra flavour into this soup.

Tandoori spiced lentil, chickpea and carrot soup

Ingredients

• A little olive oil
• 200g grated carrot (I happened to have a bag of pre-grated in the fridge, you don’t need to be precise with this)
• 2 tsp tandoori spice mix, or your chosen spice mix
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 1 tsp chilli paste
• 150g red lentils
• 200g tinned chickpeas
• 1 tin chopped tinned tomatoes
• 1 vegetable stock cube and 1 chicken stock cube
• salt and pepper

Method

1. Boil a kettle of water.
2. Heat a little olive oil into a large saucepan and add the grated carrot, frying for a couple of minutes.
3. Add in the tandoori spices and fry off for a minute before adding in the garlic and chilli pastes, stirring them through and cooking them out for a minute.
4. Throw in the lentils and give it a mix together.
5. Add in the chickpeas and tinned tomatoes, giving it all a good stir together.
6. Fill the tinned tomato tin three times with the boiling water (be careful) and tip into the saucepan.
7. Add in the stock cubes, salt and pepper it well and place a lid on the saucepan.
8. Simmer gently for 25-30mins until the lentils are cooked through.
9. Add more boiling water if needed to get it to your preferred consistency.
10. That’s all folks!