Cooking with Permjit K. Sandhu 

Lately, the weather has been cold and, frankly, unpredictable. The one thing I know to be true and consistent during this time is a bowl of soup. From a cold gazpacho to a warm, thick and creamy butternut squash soup, the variations are endless! It’s an easy way to use all your vegetables in one go with minimal preparation and is a meal in itself. 

I have fond memories from my childhood in which my siblings and I would run home from school at lunchtime during the rainy season for a bowl of hot soup and fresh baked bread prepared by our mother. We would forget about how cold and wet we were as soon as we saw the steam rising from the hot soup being ladled into the bowls. The accompanying aroma of the fresh baked bread was heavenly. We would watch with great anticipation as our mother sliced and smothered the bread with butter before serving us. This was a welcomed change from the traditional roti and daal. 

Later on, when I had a family of my own, my children would watch me with the same level of excitement I expressed towards my own mother on our soup days. I would surprise the children by adding alphabet and number pasta. They would compete with each other to see who could make the most words. Of course, in this way, the soup got cold, but they always had a great time with many laughs. 

The following recipe can be modified to your liking as the flavour combinations are limitless. For example, you may add extra beans/legumes/lentils, vegetables (fresh or frozen), protein (meat and poultry), and carbohydrates (pasta or rice) to suit your needs and flavour/texture palate.  It is also a great recipe to use for meal-prepping for a few days or to keep in the freezer for use at a later date. 

I suggest serving this hearty soup with warm crusty bread, a flatbread, baguette, rice or a light green salad. 

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp Olive oil 
• 1 Onion (finely chopped)
• 3 Garlic cloves (minced)
• 2 Celery stalks (finely chopped, roughly 1/4inch thick) 
• 2 Carrots (peeled and sliced)
• 1 Potato (medium, peeled and diced)
• 1 Cup Mushroom (sliced) 
• 1 Medium Green Bell Pepper (diced)
• 1 Medium Red Bell Pepper (diced)
• 1 Cup Green Beans
• 1 Cup Corn (fresh, canned or frozen)
• 1 Tbsp Tomato paste
• 2 Cups Crushed tomatoes 
• ¼ Cup Red Lentils (dry)
• 4 Cups Water 
• 4 Cups Vegetable Broth
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Black Pepper
• 1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 ½ tsp Paprika
• 1 tsp Dried Rosemary 
• 1 Bay Leaf (dry) 

Method 

1. Place olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. 
2. Add the onions and garlic. Saute until the onions are translucent, around 5 minutes.
3. Add the celery and carrots. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring frequently. 
4. Add mushrooms, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, lentils, water, and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil. 
5. Add potato, red and green bell peppers, green beans, and corn. 
6. Stir and add spices (salt, pepper, chili flakes, paprika, rosemary, bay leaf). 
7. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook until the lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. 
8. Garnish with parsley and serve with a baguette or your favourite bread/crackers. 

Makes 12 servings. 

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days or frozen for 3 months.