I tend to be rather impressionistic when making soups, so this won’t be a very detailed recipe. It’s also a simpliflied, Sunday afternoon recipe, using canned lentils to reduce the cooking time. This is a very solid soup/stew, with a lovely flavour after being simmered for an hour or two, and absolutely filled with vegies. A small container full makes a very satisfying weekday lunch.

1 onion, diced
2 carrots, cubed
2 sticks of celery, sliced
pepper
dried thyme
1 medium sweet potato, diced
3 potatos, diced
1 tin crushed tomatoes
1 can brown lentils
roughly 6 cups vegetable stock

Saute the onion, carrots and celery for a few minutes, until the onion is translucent, then add pepper, thyme, and any other seasonings.

Add the potato and sweet potato, and stir. Add tomatoes, lentils, and enough stock to generously cover the vegies. Let the liquid come to the boil, then turn down to a low heat, cover, and let simmer for an hour.

After an hour, check on the consistency. If it’s getting a little thick for your liking, add more water, or stock, and let it simmer a bit longer. If it looks just right, take it off the heat. If eating straight away, serve with some parsley and light sprinkling of cheese. Otherwise, let it cool in the pot before packaging it to freeze, or for lunch packages the following day.