August 3, 2023

Curried Winter Roots Soup

A tasty winter soup packed full of roots, spice and goodness to warm the cockles even on the harshest of days, of which I believe we have a few heading our way!. Vary your veg as to what you have in, but try and get a good mix for added nutrition. Parsnips, carrots, swede, turnips, potatoes, celeriac or sweet potatoes all work marvellously. Instead of peeling scrub the skins well and add the entire veg to the soup, a good deal of the good stuff is near to the skin so it’s a shame to waste it.

The soup’s even more delicious served with a dollop of natural yogurt, a few chilli flakes and/or fresh coriander. 

Makes: 4-6

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive or rapeseed oil
  • 1 large onion or 2 leeks, peeled/washed and finely sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped or crushed
  • 1 x 5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
  • 1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 heaped teaspoon ground coriander
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 pinch dried chilli flakes, more if you like heat
  • 1 kilo mixed root veg (choose from parsnips, carrots, turnips, swede, potatoes, sweet potatoes, celeriac)
  • 125g red lentils
  • 1.5 litres hot veggie stock (I like to use Marigold vegetable bouillon)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Method

  1. Prepare all the veggies. Peel and dice the onion, wash and slice the leek if using. For all other vegetables wash and scrub them very well and dice into about 1 cm cubes. 
  2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or stock pot, cook the onion or leek gently for 10 minutes, stirring regularly so nothing catches.
  3. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 minutes. Stir through all the spices and cook for a further minute. 
  4. Add all the other vegetables to the pan along with the lentils and stock. Stir well and bring to a simmer. 
  5. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until all the vegetables and lentils are fully tender. 
  6. Using a slotted spoon remove about 1/3 of the vegetables from the pan and set aside in a bowl. Whiz the remaining soup with a stick blender in the saucepan, or in a blender or processor. Re-add the set aside vegetables and stir through.
  7. Season with plenty of salt and pepper and taste. Adjust the seasoning until you’re happy, adding more garam masala, chilli, salt or pepper.