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

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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.