Carrot, ginger and lentil soup

The carrot crisps are a great way to use up carrot peelings. When roasted, they add crunch and a contrast in texture to the smooth soup – they also make a healthy snack.

Serves 4 Preparation: 15 minutes Cooking: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

550g carrots, scrubbed 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

1 large onion, roughly chopped

1 celery stalk, thinly sliced

2 tsp ground coriander ½ tsp ground turmeric 1 thumb-size piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated 175g split red lentils, rinsed well

2 bay leaves

1.2 litres good-quality hot vegetable stock

Juice of ½ lemon Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 4 tbsp thick plain yoghurt and ½ tsp nigella seeds, to serve

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Start by making the carrot crisps. Using a vegetable peeler, peel away the skin of the carrots into long, thin strips.

Toss the carrot strips in a drizzle of oil and place in an even layer on a large baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes or until crisp and golden, turning once – keep an eye on them as they can easily burn.

Remove from the heat, transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and leave to cool and crisp up further.

Meanwhile, cut the peeled carrots into chunks. Heat the oil in a large heavy based saucepan over a medium-low heat, add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, until softened.

Add the celery and carrots and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir in spices and ginger followed by the lentils and bay leaves, then pour in the stock.

Stir and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low, part-cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the lentils and carrots are tender.

Using a hand-held stick/immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth. Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

Ladle the soup into bowls, then top with a good spoonful of yoghurt, a few nigella seeds and the carrot crisps.

Adapted from The Part-Time Vegetarian’s Year (Nourish)