Recipe of the week: Rishta – lentil and pasta soup

This Lebanese soup is one of my absolute favourites, says Georgina Hayden. I adore lentils, having eaten them regularly as a child, and here the addition of starchy fresh pasta makes for a deliciously rich and velvety soup.

Cumin, coriander, garlic and lemon – in my world the holy quartet of flavours – complete what is a pretty effortless vegan meal (assuming you use tagliatelle that doesn’t contain egg). It also tastes great the next day.

Serves four to six people

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Ingredients

• 200g green lentils
• 1.8 litres of hot vegetable stock
• 2 onions
• 4 garlic cloves
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 bunch of coriander
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 125g fresh tagliatelle
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ½ a lemon

Method

• Rinse the lentils thoroughly under running water, and pick out any stones.
• Place in a large pan with the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, peel and finely slice the onions and garlic. Place a large frying pan over a medium-low heat and add the olive oil and sliced vegetables. Sauté for 15 minutes, until softened and just coloured.
• Finely chop the coriander. Stir the cumin seeds and the ground coriander in with the onion and garlic mixture, and fry for around a minute.
• Stir in half the fresh coriander to the frying pan, fry for a further 2 minutes and then remove from the heat.
• When the lentils are ready, stir in the sautéed onion mixture.
• Roughly tear the tagliatelle into smaller pieces and add to the soup. Season generously with salt and pepper and bring back to the boil.
• Reduce the heat and simmer for a further 5 minutes.
• Squeeze in the juice of the lemon half and finish with the remaining chopped coriander before serving.

Taken from Nistisima: The Secret to Delicious Vegan Cooking from the Mediterranean and Beyond by Georgina Hayden, published by Bloomsbury at £26. Photography by Kristin Perers. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £20.99, call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.