I don’t think any recipe blog would be complete without a hearty, winter vegetable soup dish! This is one I’ve been making for years. I love it because it’s easy to make, tasty, and is filled to the brim with healthy vegetables and protein. To be honest, I often have it all year round for that reason. Plus, it contains two of my best friends – lentils and thyme! Really, this website ought to be called the Thyme Kitchen! I know, I know… I seem to put thyme in everything these days. I just think it’s a kick-ass herb. It goes wonderfully with vegetables and has a lovely, subtle, well-rounded flavour. If you aren’t too keen on thyme though, you could probably remove it from most of the recipes and they would still taste great. However, this one is an exception! Honestly, you’ll thank me for it.
Winter Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion
- 1/2 tsp crushed garlic
- 1/2 cup red lentils
- 1/4 cup yellow split peas soaked overnight
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 1 large carrot diced
- 1 large sweet potato diced
- 1 cup turnip/swede diced
- 3 cups cabbage chopped finely
- Sprig fresh thyme
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Pinch cracked black pepper
- hot water
- Handful finely chopped kale
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan on medium heat, and add the finely chopped onion and the crushed garlic with a pinch of salt. Sauté the onion on a low-medium heat for 5 mins.
- Add the red lentils and the pre-soaked split peas and stir together for a couple of minutes. Then add the vegetable stock.
- Add all of the chopped vegetables except for the leek. Stir together well and add in the thyme and the seasoning. You may need to add a little more hot water – just enough to ensure that all the vegetables are covered. Bring to boil and then simmer on a low heat for about 15 mins. Stir occasionally to make sure the lentils and split peas aren’t stuck to the bottom.
- Add the finely chopped kale and, if necessary, a little more hot water. You want just enough to cover the vegetables only, so that we end up with a thick and chunky soup.
- On a very low heat, allow the soup to simmer for a further 30 minutes or so, until all the vegetables are soft and well cooked. I always check and stir the soup every 10 mins or so to prevent any lentils from sticking to the bottom.
- Then voila! In one soup bowl you’ve pretty much got your 5+ a day covered!