Brown Lentil and Pasta Soup

This rustic vegetarian soup makes a hearty and warming winter meal and goes especially well with a crusty Italian / French bread, roasted with garlic butter.

Ingredients

Serves 2-3

100g brown lentils washed

1 tbsp garlic ginger paste

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion finely chopped

1 celery stick, finely chopped

2 tbsp tomato puree

1 cube vegetable stock

½ tsp thyme leaves

50g small pasta

Salt and pepper to taste

Fresh parsley for garnishing

Method

Boil water in a sauce pan, when it’s boiling add lentils and cook for about 30 minutes. Turn off heat when lentils are soft, and set aside.

Heat oil in a pan, sauté onion, garlic ginger paste, celery, stock cube, tomato puree and thyme for 2-3 minutes. Add 1 bowl of water and bring to boil.

Drain lentils, reserve water and re-heat reserved water in same sauce pan. When water is boiling add pasta, salt cook for 10-15 minutes. When pasta is cooked, drain and reserve pasta with cooked lentils.

When soup is simmering add lentils, pasta, salt and pepper to taste.

If your prefer a thick soup, add  1 tsp corn flour mixed in cold water to the soup, let it boil for few more minutes till the texture of the soup thickens.

Ladle soup in bowls garnish with parsley.