Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Tana Ramsay's Lentil Soup

linssoppa-ramsay

Here's another yummy soup recipe from Tana Ramsay's book (yes, that's Gordon's wife) Homemade. I really like the book and I really liked this soup even though I'm generally no fan of lentils or beans. This one has both... but it also has bacon, and lemon which does a lot to brighten the flavors.

Tana Ramsay's Lentil Soup
Serves 4

70 g bacon, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, coarsely chopped
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp dried chili
150 g red lentils
400 g (1 tin) crushed tomatoes
400 g (1 tin) large white beans
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 litre water
1/2 tsp sugar
zest from one lemon
salt, pepper
thick yogurt, to serve
fresh coriander

Fry the bacon in a big pot until it's slightly crispy. Add the olive oil, onion, and carrots and fry for 8-10 minutes on low heat. Add garlic, garam masala and chili, stir well and add the lentils.

Add tomatoes, beans, tomato purée and water. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid and lower the heat. Simmer for 45 minutes until lentils and carrots are soft.

Remove the pot from the heat, and stir in lemon zest and sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with a dollop of yogurt and some fresh coriander.

Recipe in Swedish:
Linssoppa med vita bönor

6 comments:

Helena said...

You sure don't like vegetarian food :)

Anne said...

Helena - well, I have a lot of totally vegetarian recipes too, but I rarely aim to cook totally veggie. What I really don't like is vegetarian substitutes - I'll post about my experience with quorn shortly - and I've never appriciated any pulses at all. I try to eat some though, and I find it easier now than a few years ago - some are still terrible, but some are ok. I'm sensitive to textures, and anything mealy is out of the question.

In general, YES, I'm a pretty picky eater! :)

You will eat it and you will like it said...

Anne, I'll share a recipe that forever changed my way to think of lentil soup. And do you know what I find to be key? To use LOTS of lentils, let them soak really soft so soup almost turn into stew. Just a few swirling around and you can indeed pick up the mealiness...

Anne said...

Ulrika, that looks really good. I've tried a few other Ottolenghi recipes and they were great - so I'll definitely give this one a chance, too :)

Jeanne said...

I, on the other hand, love beans, lentils AND bacon, so this sounds heavenly to me!! Thanks for sharing.

Matanna said...

Oh, I just love lental soup!
it is saturated but still heavenly good