Luscious Lentil & Tomato Soup

Ingredients: 100g red or brown lentils, 1 can tomatoes or carton passata (sieved tomatoes), 500 ml water, 1 x vegetable stock cube or 1 x 5ml spoon bouillon powder, 1 diced onion, 1 clove crushed or chopped garlic, 1 diced carrot, 1 medium diced potato, 1 x 15ml spoon sunflower oil, 2 x 15ml spoon lemon juice, 1 x 5ml spoon ground cumin, ground black pepper to season

1. Peel onion. Make a bridge with your hand and cut the onion in half. Put the flat sides down on the board.

2. Hold the onion firmly with your hand like a claw. Slice across without cutting through the root.

3. Turn the onion round and still holding it like a claw, slice in the other direction.

4. Peel the carrot. Cut off the top and bottom.

5. Dice the carrot.

6. Peel and dice the potato.

7. Crush the garlic. The prepared vegetables should now look like this.

8. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and fry gently for 5 minutes.

9. Add the carrot and potato.

10. Add the cumin.

11. Add the lentils.

12. Add the passata or canned tomatoes.

13. Dissolve the stock cube or bouillion powder in 500ml of boiling water and add this to the pan.

14. Give the mixture a stir and bring to the boil.

15. Reduce the heat, cover the pan and simmer for 40 minutes.

16. Whilst the soup is cooking, make some croutons. Cut a slice of ciabatta into 1cm cubes. Put 2 x 15ml spoons of pesto into a bowl with 1 x 15ml spoon of olive oil. Coat the cubes in the pesto mixture.

17. Spread the cubes on a baking tray and bake for 10 – 15 minutes on gas mark 5 / 190°C until crisp and brown.

18. Squeeze the juice from one lemon.

19. When the soup is ready the lentils should be soft and the soup thickened. Just before serving, add 2 x 15ml spoons lemon juice and some freshly ground black pepper.

20. Serve with the pesto croutons, and some crusty bread.