So easy and tasty, enjoy the latest soup in my repertoire. The red lentils dissolve to the point the fussiest legumophobe is unlikely to notice.

Cauliflower and red lentil soup

1 tablespoon olive (or preferred vegetable) oil
1 large brown onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Pinch of sea salt
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin seeds toasted and ground, or just use store bought ground cumin
1 medium or half a large cauliflower, roughly chopped*
1 cup red lentils, rinsed
1 litre vegetable stock (approx)

Optional extras

½ – 1 cup coconut milk
Juice of half a lemon
Smoked sea salt
Coriander leaves to garnish

Warm a large, heavy based pot on medium heat.

Add the oil, onions and pinch of salt. Cook until soft, stirring as needed.

Next add the garlic, turmeric and cumin and stir for a minute or two before adding the cauliflower and red lentils.

Once all the ingredients in the pot are coated with oil, add stock to cover all the ingredients by a couple of centimetres.  You may need more or less than a litre, or to top it up while cooking.

Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 – 15 minutes until the lentils have dissolved and the cauliflower is soft.

Remove from the heat and blend with a stick blender (if using a food processor wait for the soup to cool a bit).

Return to the heat and add coconut milk if desired (or save it to swirl on top when serving). Bring the soup back up to temperature but don’t boil it.

Taste to see if you need to add more salt. This will depend on the type of stock used.

Once off the heat, squeeze in some fresh lemon juice if you have it. Seriously, lemon juice and a little sea salt is the wow factor for many veggie dishes.

If you have smoked sea salt and/or coriander, add a little to each bowl after serving.

*If you’ve got the oven on consider tossing the cauliflower in oil and roasting it in a hot oven instead. You Just add the roasted cauliflower to the soup about 5 minutes after the lentils.

Recipe was adapted from Caroline Trickey’s Healthy Home Café.

There are more soup recipes in my winter collection. Try a different one each week!

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• Recipe: red lentil soup with a twist
• Recipe: Creamy carrot soup
• Recipe: divine dhal
• The soup collection: a soup for every week of winter
• Recipe: vegan raita