Curried Lentil & Lime Soup

You can never get enough soup when it's cold, it makes the perfect change from a cup of coffee or tea, as well as providing you with at least one of your five a day!

This lowly lightly spiced soup is delicious! It was recommended to use curry paste instead of powder, but I only had powder so I used that instead. You can top this with a dollop of natural yogurt or sour cream if you like, and make sure to have some lovely bread, naan, flatbread or chapattis to serve with it. I hope you like it *smiles*. This is easy to make vegan, as you can just use vegetable stock instead of chicken. Oh, and if you want a thicker soup, use 100g lentils instead of 60, I was just running short on my lentilage!

When I brought the second portion with me to work, one of my colleagues could smell it and asked me for the recipe! Quite a compliment I'd say *smiles*

Curried Lentil & Lime Soup
(Serves 2, about 220 calories each, 245 calories each with 100g lentils)

1 medium onion, chopped
1 fat garlic clove, finely chopped
2 cm grated fresh ginger, or 1 tsp ground
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
60/100g lentils
600-700ml chicken or vegetable stock (I used a cube of each)
25g sultanas or currants
1 tsp dry mint, or 2tbsp chopped fresh mint
Salt and pepper to taste
Zest and juice of 1/2 lime for serving

- Start by heating up a medium pan, along with a little water, add the onion, garlic and spices. Stir for a few minutes until fragrant.

- Add the lentils, and stock and simmer on medium low heat for about 20 minutes until the lentils are tender. Pour in the currants and boil for a further 10 minutes. Season to taste, and it's ready to serve!

- Ladle the soup into bowl or cups and top with a squeeze of lemon juice, swirl it around and top with a little lime zest, and the optional dollop of sour cream or yogurt. Serve with bread, and dip in!

Also, earlier this week, I decided to take on all the different spices in the cupboard and sort them. Some there were two of, aaand another we had three of! (...cinnamon, my bad - I love that stuff and though we'd run out!)

I found 40 spice jars, and I think I at least managed to get it down to...35? Not bad! If you have spices at hand, you usually need less ingredients to create simple but delicious dishes! And speaking of delicious dishes... This morning I decided to try Pumpernickel bread for the first time!

Ever tried it before? It has more of a sweetness to it than ordinary bread and it is really quite dense in comparison, but I love it! Especially toasted, mmm! It's pretty much the same as rye bread.

I served it up with some cream cheese and a little bit of smoked salmon that had to be used, this, a cup of nettle tea and a banana on the side and I am ready to take on the Sunday!
Do you sometimes treat yourself to better breakfasts or experiment in the kitchen in the weekend?


Original source:
Delicious Low-Fat Recipes, p. 32

- Jules