Red Lentil, Chickpea and Chilli Soup (vegan)

This is the nicest soup I’ve made for ages and more than makes up for the disastrous soup I made last week. Of course, it could be because it’s got chilli in it; chilli improves everything (except avocado. Nothing could improve that. Bleurgh).

The recipe is taken from the BBC Good Food website but I didn’t use any coriander or yoghurt and I didn’t leave it as a rough puree – I blitzed it until it was smooth.

There are chickpeas in it, honest.

Red lentil, chickpea and chilli soup (serves 4)

2 tsp cumin seeds
large pinch chilli flakes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
140g red split lentils
850ml vegetable stock
400g chopped tomatoes
1/2 can chickpeas

1. Heat a large saucepan and dry fry the cumin and chilli flakes for 1 minute, or until they start to jump around the pan and release their aromas. Add the oil and onion, and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the lentils, stock and tomatoes, then bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 minutes until the lentils have softened.
2. Whizz the soup with a stick blender, then add the chickpeas and heat through.