Serves: 4

Difficulty: 3/5

Time: 1 hour

The use of ras el hanout in this recipe creates a plentiful and unique combination of flavours. This spice is a mixture of cumin, coriander, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, pepper and cardamom, native to North Africa. This dish is a perfect lunch served on its own or as a dinner with garlic bread or salad. As the days get darker and colder, soup is a perfect tummy warmer to come home to or to take to university with you!

Ingredients

• 1 onion

• 3 cloves of garlic

• 1 potato

• 2 carrots

• 1 courgette

• 1 pepper

• 1 cup of peas

• ½ cup of lentils

• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes

• 1 tbsp tomato puree

• 1 chicken or vegetable stock cube in ¾ litre of water

• 2 tsp paprika

• 2 tsp ras el hanout

• 1 tsp cumin

• Salt and pepper

• Olive oil

Method

Chop all the vegetables into 1-inch cubes, place in bowls of water to keep them fresh.

In a large pan on a medium heat, cook off the onions and garlic in the olive oil. Once the onions have softened, add in the paprika, ras el hanout and cumin and cook off for a couple of minutes.

Add in the chicken stock, chopped tomatoes and tomato puree. Stir to combine everything together.

After adding in the stock, chopped tomatoes and puree, add in the carrots and cook for about 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, add in all the other vegetables, including the lentils which should be soaked in boiling water for 2 minutes prior. Season the soup with salt and pepper.

Cook on a low heat for 40 minutes until everything is soft. Leave the lid off for a thicker soup or leave the lid on for a thinner soup – this is personal preference.

You can blend the soup once it is cooled, however I like to leave mine chunky. Again, this is personal preference.

Enjoy!

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