Originally I intended to write another bread baking recipe, burger buns maybe. But then I thought to myself: come on! We are in a middle of winter. People are not going to have barbeques and burgers now. What they need is a bowl of warming soup instead. I don’t know how about you, but for me winter is definitely a soup eating season. There is nothing better than a bowl of steaming soup after a long wintery walk. This recipe is absolutely perfect for such occasions. Simply put the ingredients into the slow cooker, go for a lovely long walk and return home to a freshly made, flavoursome hot soup. This recipe is so simple you would be crazy not to make it. And if you made more soup than you can eat in one lunch simply freeze the excess!

Makes 6 – 8 portions

Equipment required: slow cooker

Ingredients:

• 2 tblsp rapeseed oil
• 500g red lentils
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed with the knife and then finely chopper (or minced)
• 1.4L vegetable stock (from stock cubes is fine if you don’t have the fresh stock)
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper for seasoning
• 120g spicy chorizo to garnish, about 20g per portion (optional)

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat.
2. Sweat the onion, garlic and bay leaves with a pinch of salt for about 5 minutes, until translucent and softened.
3. Pour the lentils into the slow cooker, cover with the stock. Add the onions, garlic and bay leaves and stir well.
4. Cook on a low setting for about 4 – 5 hours until the lentils have absorbed most of the liquid and turned into a thick mush. I personally like the soup with a slightly coarse texture. However, you can blitz it with a stick blender if you prefer it smooth.
5. Season to taste and keep warm whilst you prepare the garnish.
6. Cut the chorizo sausage lengthways and then chop into 0.5cm slices.
7. Transfer the chorizo into the dry frying pan and cook over the medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring from time to time. You want chorizo to release its flavoured oil and to crisp slightly on the outside.
8. Serve the soup in pre heated bowls, garnished with chorizo and accompanied with a good quality sourdough bread.

Replace chorizo with roasted and crushed hazelnuts if you want to go vegetarian.