The inspiration for this soup comes from Turkish cooking. Lentil soup is popular in Turkey and it is usually seasoned with mint and chilli. I've added a few more spices and some more vegetables, but the focus is still on the taste combination of lentils and mint which, although it might seem quite unusual at first, really is delicious.
Ingredients
3-400g lentils
1 carrot, grated
2 or 3 tomatoes, chopped
1 or 2 potatoes, chopped into 1 cm pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed/chopped
2 whole green chillies
2 bay leaves
A half tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. coriander seeds
Olive oil
A couple of large pinches of dried mint
2 vegetable stock cubes or equivalent
Salt
Put about two and a half litres of water in a pot and add the lentils, carrot, potatoes, tomatoes, whole chillies and bay leaves. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer. Keep your eye on the pot and skim off any froth that appears.
While the pot is boiling, heat some olive oil and fry the onion gently until it is golden brown. Grind the seeds and add them, with the garlic, to the onion in the pan. Stir and fry for 2 or 3 minutes. Add the contents of the frying pan to the soup pan. Stir, cover the pan and cook for another half-hour before adding the stock and salt. Cook for a further 10 minutes, then stir in the mint and turn off the heat.