Spinach, Lentil and Coriander Soup – 0sp

Since the weather is still FREEZING I decided to try out a new soup this week which included my love for both spinach and coriander. It’s got quite a few ingredients but it makes a huge batch of soup and it feels like a lovely treat come lunch time. It’s great for using left over veg such as spinach and celery (which we always seem to having knocking around in the fridge) and the ginger, chilli and lemon really give it a lift.

I blended half the soup with a stick blender and left the rest chunky but you can serve it big and chunky or totally smooth, either way its delicious, I just think its more filling having something to chew on! Serve with a tablespoon of fat free natural yoghurt if you fancy!

Ingredients

Serves: 4 = 0sp per serving (Flex)

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

2 sticks of celery, sliced

1 large onion, roughly chopped

1 pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped

2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

½ tsp ground cumin and ground coriander

1 vegetable stock cube

100g red lentils (dried)

Thumb sized piece of root ginger peeled and sliced

1 red chilli deseeded and sliced

4 tomatoes, roughly chopped

200g spinach

Bunch of fresh coriander, roughly chopped

Salt and Pepper

Juice of half a lemon

Method

Put the carrots, celery, onion, pepper and garlic together in a pan and spray with 1Kal. Pop over medium heat and cook for 10 minutes until the carrots have softened a bit and the onion is lightly golden. I add a bit of water to make sure the garlic doesn’t stick to the bottom on the pan and burn. Add the cumin and coriander, stir in a cook for a few more minutes.

Add the stock cube to a 1.5 litre jug of boiling water and stir until the stock is dissolved. Pour into the vegetable mixture and then add the lentils, tomatoes, ginger, and chilli. Stir the soup and bring to the boil and then simmer for around 15 minutes (or until lentils are cooked). Next add the spinach and cook for 30 seconds. Blend to your liking leaving it chunky if you like a bit more bite. Then add the fresh coriander and stir.

Season the soup well with salt and pepper and squeeze in the lemon juice!

Enjoy!