Friary Lentil Soup

This rustic soup is thick and delicious, takes little time to make and is very cheap to prepare. We often intend to include more pulses and whole grains in our daily diet but fail to do so, this dish has all the elements that we are supposed to eat more of, so go ahead.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 celery stalks finely chopped
• 1 carrot peeled and finely chopped
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• 2 fat rashers of good bacon rind removed
• 1 400g tin tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 pinch sugar
• 1 cup uncooked lentils – use red for a thicker quicker soup, brown or green for a more rustic soup
• 1 litre of chicken stock
• 1 large sprig of rosemary
• Salt and pepper to taste
• A handful of chopped parsley plus extra to garnish

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Spray several cookie sheets with non stick cooking spray

In a bowl or processor beat the butter, vanilla essence and brown and white sugars until pale, then add the eggs.

Mix well and don’t worry if the mixture curdles a little it will come right when you add the flour. Mix in the flour and baking soda then stir in the rolled oats, cinnamon and raisins. Add the milk if needed to produce a soft rolling consistency.

Scoop teaspoons of the mixture onto greased trays – you can roll the dough into balls if you prefer fatter, more even textured cookies. Space the cookies out on the tray so they have room to spread to double their size.

Bake in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes until just puffed and turning golden around the edges. Use a spatula to remove them to racks until cool. The cookies will be soft when they come out of the oven and get harder as they cool.

Tip

Lentils provide protein, iron and fibre and contain no fat, they're an incredibly cheap and nourishing addition to our diet.