This simple and delicious lentil soup is the perfect autumn warmer – and it’s so cheap to make. Here’s how to make it
As the air turns crisp and leaves begin to fall, Express writer Sophie Law finds herself yearning for comfort food. Nothing screams autumn more than a large pot of hearty homemade soup bubbling away on the hob.
While Sophie enjoys dabbling with various recipes, there’s one straightforward dish that she whips up every week without fail: her four-ingredient lentil soup. With food prices being a hot topic currently, this is one of the reasons she returns to this recipe time and again.
It’s inexpensive, satisfying and cosy – everything you desire when the evenings start to close in.
Even better, it costs her roughly £3.48 for the ingredients from Aldi which equates to 49p per serving, making it one of the most wallet-friendly meals in my kitchen.
It’s also incredibly nutritious, brimming with vegetables alongside red lentils for fibre and a hint of protein. Sophie often prepares a large batch on a Sunday and have it for lunch throughout the week – a large pot can easily yield six to seven servings, reports the Express.
The best part about this soup is that you can toss in as many vegetables as you fancy. The three essentials are onion, carrot and leek, but she frequently adds anything from celery to sweet potato, butternut squash, bell pepper or even potato.
Four-ingredient lentil soup recipe
Serves up to seven servings.
Ingredients
- One onion
- Five carrots
- Two leeks
- 100g red lentils
Method
Sophie begins by roughly chopping the onion, carrots and leeks, then gently cooking them in a splash of oil until they soften.
Next, she tosses in the red lentils and give them a quick stir for about a minute before pouring in a generous amount of boiling water (or stock if she has some on hand). The amount of water you add is entirely up to you, depending on how thick or thin you prefer your soup.
Then it’s simply a case of letting it simmer until the lentils are soft and the carrots are tender. This usually takes roughly an hour.
Don’t forget to season according to your preference with salt and pepper, or any other spices that tickle your fancy, such as a hint of cumin.
The last step involves blitzing it with a hand blender to achieve a silky, smooth texture; sometimes she leaves it slightly chunkier. Both versions are scrumptious.
This soup is at its best when sprinkled with fresh parsley and served alongside buttered bread. It’s also perfect for batch cooking and can be frozen for up to three months.