Lentil soup with lemon and garlic

Let's face it - after a really beautiful and warm autumn in Brussels, the winter is just around the corner. It is getting colder and darker every day. But so far it hasn't been raining too much and that itself is a reason to be happy ;) I have to admit that this is the time of the year when I don't always feel like preparing some elaborate and time-consuming dishes on weekdays. Often after coming home from work I prefer to lie on the sofa with a good book or go for an evening run, rather than spend a lot of time in the kitchen (which on the other hand I very much enjoy at the weekends). But I still like to eat, and I like to eat nice. Soups are a fantastic solution here, as I usually make enough to last for three days. Then we have them with dark break or rolls with some nice vegan spread on top. A fast, but super delicious and super healthy dinner.

Today I made one of my favourite soups: lentil soup with lemon and garlic from The Complete Book of Vegan Cooking by Tony and Yvonne Bishop-Weston:

(serves 4; I post the original recipe here - I doubled the quantities)

3 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 celery sticks, chopped
1-2 carrots, sliced

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 potato, peeled and diced

250g red lentils, well rinsed

1 litre vegetable stock

2 bay leaves

1-2 lemons, halved

1/2 tsp ground cumin, or to taste

cayenne pepper or Tabasco sauce, to taste

ground black pepper

lemon slices and chopped fresh flat leave parsley (I used regular parsley), to garnish

Heat the olive oil in a large pan, add the onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, half the garlic and the potato. Cook a few mintues until they begin to soften. Add the lentils and the vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer under cover for about 30 minutes. Add the bay leaves, remaining garlic, half the lemons and cook until the lentils and vegetables are tender (10-15 minutes). Remove the bay leaves (I also removed the lemon halves, blending them later didn't really appeal to me...). Squeeze the juice from the remaining lemons into the soup and stir. Blend the soup, season with the cumin, cayenne pepper or Tabasco. Heat up the soup again, pour into bowls and serve garnished with chopped parsley and lemon slices.

And yes, it tastes as good as it looks ;)