autumn means soup

so, many of you know that i love to cook. and bake too. since becoming vegetarian, I’ve been doing a lot more cooking so I can ensure I get all the nutrients I’m supposed to have each day. I love cookbooks for inspiration, but mostly, I make things up. I thought I’d start sharing some of my “recipes” - which term I use very loosely as I rarely measure anything! This is what I made for supper today:

Roasted Red Pepper and Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dried red lentils
• 2 leeks
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 pkg of silken tofu
• 4 red bell peppers
• EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
• about a cup of vegetable stock
• a couple dollops of sour cream (optional)
• salt
• pepper (use the stuff you have to grind yourself, it’s so much better)
• paprika
• cayenne pepper
• NB: you’ll need a good blender. a hand blender will do the trick.

Instructions:

1. Place red peppers on a cookie sheet and place them under the broiler until the skins turn black. Rotate frequently - the whole skin should be black all the way around. This takes about 20 minutes.
2. Rinse lentils well and drain. They’re usually quite small, so use a small strainer. 2 cups of lentils requires 6 cups of water to cook. Use a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook till they are mushy, about 15-20 minutes. Don’t worry about how it looks. Drain when they’re done and set aside.
3. While the red peppers are broiling, chop leeks into small pieces. Only use the white part, not the green. Sautee in a bit of EVOO over medium-low heat until translucent. Don’t burn them! Remove from heat and mix with the lentils.
4. Now your peppers should be done. Take them out and set the oven to 425 F. Let the peppers cool for a few minutes and drain off any liquid. Take a damp paper towel and remove the blackened skins. If that doesn’t work use the back of a spoon. Next, cut them open from stem to bottom and remove the stem and seeds. Cut the peppers into fairly large pieces, lay them in a single layer on the cookie sheet, drizzle with EVOO and place them in the oven to roast for about 15-20 minutes. Check on them to make sure the edges don’t burn, but they don’t need to be turned.
5. Blend together lentils, leeks, vegetable stock, garlic, and tofu until completely smooth. place this mixture in your large saucepan and heat over medium-low heat. Add spices to taste - easy on the cayenne, you just want to use a little bit to create some warmth in the soup.
6. When the peppers are finished roasting, blend them in the blender and add this to the soup mixture. If the soup doesn’t look creamy enough for your liking, add a couple dollops of sour cream. cook the whole soup mixture for 10-15 minutes, stirring often.
7. Enjoy!

try out this yummy soup! roasted red peppers are among my very most favourite things. they take a little while to make, but it’s worth it. This soup has lots of protein, no dairy (unless you use the sour cream), hardly any fat (just in the EVOO, but that’s good fat, right!?) and lots of fibre. Plus, you’ve got at least a couple servings of vegetables in there, with the leeks and the peppers and the vegetable stock.