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.
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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.
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