We have steadily and joyfully worked our way through the leftovers. Day by day, they have been whittled down into smaller and smaller Tupperwares - an oddly satisfying transfer process. The sandwiches were carefully constructed. The cake was sliced in tandem with the flick of the kettle. The cheeses were chipped away at; little nubbins of stilton remain, but probably not for long. We ate very well and I’m incredibly grateful for all of it. But I’m ready for something different now. I think we all are.
My appetite is tugging me towards soup, soup that is a contrast to the food we’ve been eating but one that also tries to carry the gentleness of the last week or so into the new year. January calls for gentleness.
So lentil soup it is: spiced with cumin, coriander and turmeric, and topped with a warm “double” mint oil. Here, “double” refers to the two forms of mint - fresh and dried. I rarely cook with dried herbs, but I make an exception for dried mint which has little in common with its fresh counterpart. So much so that I think of it as an entirely different ingredient. It’s grassy, slightly earthy and seems to really come to life when sizzled in warm oil.
Lentil soup with warm mint oil
For the soup:
2 brown onions
3 celery sticks
3 garlic cloves
250g red lentils
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp tomato puree
1x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 litre veg or chicken stock
1 lemon
For the mint oil:
100ml olive oil
40g pumpkin seeds
2 tsp dried mint
Small bunch of mint
Yoghurt for serving
Finely chop the onions, celery and garlic. Thoroughly rinse the lentils (they can be very dusty straight from the packet so don’t be tempted to skip this). Crush the cumin seeds and coriander seeds in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder. If you don’t have one of these, you can use a sturdy bowl and the end of a rolling pin.
Heat 4 tbsp olive oil in a large, heavy-based pot. Once shimmering, add the onions, celery and a pinch of salt. Fry for 15 minutes until very soft then add the garlic, spices and a few twists of black pepper and fry for a couple of minutes until fragrant. Add the tomato puree and fry for 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly, until the puree turns a brick red colour. Add the rinsed lentils, chopped tomatoes and stock. Bring up to a boil then lower the heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the lentils are tender. Give it a stir every so often to prevent sticking at the bottom of the pot.
As the lentils cook, make the mint oil. Put the olive oil and pumpkin seeds in a small pan, set over a low heat and cook gently for 5 minutes until the seeds start to pop. Remove from the heat then immediately add the dried mint - it should sizzle as soon as it hits the hot oil and smell very fragrant. Pick the fresh mint leaves, finely chop then stir through the oil. Season lightly with salt.
Once the lentils are tender, taste for seasoning. Squeeze in the juice of half the lemon to start with, then taste and adjust with more as needed. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with yoghurt and mint oil.
More ways with dried mint
Stir through warm honey to drizzle over fried halloumi
Mix with wilted greens and crumbled feta as a filling for filo or puff pastry hand pies
Add a couple of teaspoons or so to lamb meatballs
Fry with garlic, strips of lemon zest and softened onions as the base of a pilaf
More gentle January bits & bobs
Brothy, tomatoey and ready to be showered with parmesan
A big pot of beans
My kind of cauliflower cheese (no béchamel faff and all the better for it in my opinion)
Warm soda bread with lots of butter
Orange, lemon and ginger marmalade
how many people does this lentil soup serve?