A thick lentil soup with carrot, onion, garlic and tomato, blended or left chunky, with wholegrain bread. Twenty minutes, one pan, vegan.
Lentils are measured cooked; 200 g cooked is about 80 g dry, or a drained tin.
- Ready in20 minutes
- Prep5 min
- Cook15 min
- Serves1
Ingredients
- 250 g lentils (cooked, or canned and drained)
- 80 g carrots
- 50 g onions
- 2 cloves garlic
- 8 g olive oil
- 150 g tomatoes, chopped or crushed (canned)
- 2 slices wholegrain bread
Method
- Dice the onion and carrot and crush the garlic. Chop the tomatoes.
- Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat and cook the onion and carrot for five minutes. Add the garlic for the last minute.
- Add the tomatoes, the cooked lentils and enough water or stock to cover, about 300 ml. Season and simmer for eight to ten minutes.
- Leave it chunky, or blend half and stir it back in for a thicker soup. Serve with the bread.
What this plate gives you
Thirty grams of fibre in one bowl is more than the 28 g the Dietary Guidelines set for a whole 2,000-calorie day, and it is the lentils: 250 g cooked carries about 20 g of fibre and 22 g of protein. With the bread the bowl reaches 35 g of protein and 632 calories, just under a third of that day, which is why it is a lunch that holds until dinner. The lentils are measured cooked; 250 g cooked is about 100 g dry, and red lentils cook in fifteen minutes without soaking.
Swaps
- One slice of bread: 80 calories fewer.
- A spoon of Greek yoghurt on top: about 5 g more protein.
- Cumin and a squeeze of lemon at the end: no change to the numbers.
Keeping it
The soup keeps four days in the fridge and freezes for three months; it thickens overnight, so loosen it with water when you reheat. Toast the bread fresh.
