Really Easy Home Made Lentil Soup

This is probably the easiest lentil soup you can make. It's bursting with the flavour of fresh vegetables, red lentils, spicy curry powder and ginger root. You can make this soup in less than an hour from start to finish, and enjoy it with crispy rolls or crackers for a nourishing, warm lunch on a cold December day.

You'll need: 

For the Soup:
1 onion; 1 clove garlic; 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger root; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 sweet red pepper; 1 small hot red pepper; 1 large carrot; 3 large mushrooms; 2 teaspoons hot curry powder; 1/2 teaspoon turmeric; 1 cup red lentils; 1 tablespoon tamari; 5 cups water.To Garnish: 1 tablespoon hemp hearts.

 Method:
Chop the onion, garlic and ginger. Put olive oil and onion in a large soup pot, and cook gently over a medium heat until onions begin to soft. Turn heat up to medium and add garlic and ginger root, sauteing until fragrant.

While the onions are softening, wipe and thinly slice the mushrooms, dice sweet and hot red peppers, and cut carrots into circles or half moons. Add  vegetables to the pot in this order: mushroom, peppers, and carrots. Mix in each vegetable gently, until coated with oil, and lightly stir fry before adding next vegetable.

Fill the kettle with 5 cups of water and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, add the curry powder and ground turmeric to the soup pot, stirring to blend into vegetable mixture. Add in lentils and mix well. Stir in the tamari.

Add 1 cup of boiling water to the soup pot. Stir well, loosening any bits of vegetable stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add remaining 4 cups of water, and combine with vegetables. Heat just to boiling point, and let cook uncovered for 2 minutes. Stir again, reduce heat to a slow simmer, and put lid on soup pot. Cook until lentils and vegetables are softened and well-integrated. Garnish with hemp hearts, and serve hot.

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