What’s on my plate: a spicy soup

Thistles and Kiwis,

There are so many different types of soup – the ones made from all the left over vegetables from the bottom of the fridge or the carefully planned ones like Jerusalem artichoke (see June’s post) where you have to wait for the right season and then find the roots themselves. Then there are the the old favourites like lentil, split pea, chicken noodle and leek and potato, the chilled soups of summer like gazpacho and the meal-in-a-bowl soups like minestrone.

I’ve got into a habit on my non-working day of Wednesday of making soup in the winter. This week I thought I would try something different, and turned to Ottolenghi’s Simple for inspiration, picking out the curried lentil tomato and coconut soup. Since lentils are such a good staple to have in the cupboard – red lentils for soup, brown and black lentils for salads and puy lentils to cook with sausages for a warming winter meal – it also seemed like a good choice to use ingredients I already had to hand. I have a favourite way of making lentil soup with mushrooms and a spoon of sherry added at the end, so it was also good to try something different.

The lentils are cooked in tomatoes and coconut milk, with added spices, onion, garlic and ginger. As the soup cooked, the house was full of gorgeous smells, and the simmering pot of bright, red soup was a delight to behold. I had picked up some focaccia from Shelly Bay Baker to have with the soup, and finished the bowls off with a swirl of coconut milk and some fresh coriander.

Verdict: I put a fair bit of chilli in it, so the soup was quite spicy, which I guess is the idea! It was really good and will go on my ‘make again’ list. As the Mock Turtle sang in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, soup of the evening, beautiful soup. This well be entered in the What’s on Your Plate blog challenge hosted by Widow Badass and Retirement Reflections when it goes live. I’m just early!

Also entered into Natalie’s weekend coffee share.

You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram @thistlesandkiwis.  As for Twitter….am totally inactive these days.  If you want to get in touch, email me on thistlesandkiwis@gmail.com

Published by Thistles and Kiwis

29 Comments

  1. Winter is my time for soup too, broccoli, mushroom, chicken, lentil are on my list but I also love butternut with coconut milk or a more spicy butternut and roasted peppers. Such easy and tasty meals.

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  2. Yum! Soup weather is fast approaching for us, but we are still in summer/heat wave season so I’ll have to return to your post in about 6 weeks. I’ve heard such good things about the Ottolenghi cookbooks. Maybe “Simple” is the one I should start with? Something about the title appeals…😉

    Deb

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  3. My father was fond of quoting “soup of the evening, beautiful soup” so I enjoyed encountering it here. His favourite was tomato, whereas I love lentil or butternut. My youngest granddaughter asked me to make ‘Granny’s special tomato soup’ when they visited several months ago – and of course her wish was granted.

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  6. Okay, I have to give this one a go. I eat soup most days for lunch at this time of the year and have to confess to being a tad bored with my usual. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  8. Thank you for your weekend coffee share and the recipe. The soup looks beautiful, delicious and healthy. I made a note to make this when the weather gets cooler here.

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  10. The soup photo is the reason I clicked into your post and after reading it, I am completely inspired to make lentil soup! While we are experiencing warm weather at the moment, I simply can’t say no after seeing how delicious and fun it would be to make this. Thank so much for sharing 🙂

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  11. That soup looks really good. I might like it, but I’m not sure. I’m not a big fan of lentils or coconut milk though I’ll use them in recipes and do like them somewhat. No post for me this week. I just couldn’t get it together.

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  15. Both your soup and bread look delectable! I have some green lentils in my larder; I wonder if it would work ….

    I didn’t realise different lentils had different uses (duh …) until I read this post. I always just bought the colour that took my fancy on the shop (I typically just throw lentils into soups/stews for texture, so I never thought much about it)

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  16. Pingback: This week’s small pleasures #338 – Thistles and Kiwis

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