Hearty Vegetable Soup

Come summertime and my appetite goes out of the window, I can no longer tolerate "heavy food" and prefer to eat lighter so salads, soups, pitta bread are very much welcome. This is one of my favourite soups (actually it is the ONLY soup I make as I love it that much). It's a thicker consistency (I hate watery soups), full of fresh vegetables, really quick to make and supper yummy.

Ingredients:

1 courgette

3 carrots 

half a marrow/butternut squash/pumpkin

3 chestnut mushrooms 

1 small onion

1 garlic clove

a few sprigs of thyme

1 teaspoon of coconut oil (my preferred oil, but you can use whatever you want)

1/2 tablespoon paprika

1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1/2 cup red lentils 

1.5 litres of water

1 chicken stock cube (use vegetable or skip to make it vegetarian/vegan)

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon coconut milk 

1. Wash, peel and dice all ingredients. It doesn't have to be uniform as it will all get blended in at the end

2. Sautee the onions, garlic and thyme with the coconut oil until the onions become translucent

3. Add all the chopped vegetables and allow to cook for a about 10 minutes

4. Add the paprika and cayenne pepper, and stir

5. Add the water, red lentils, stock cube and cover the pot

6. Allow to simmer for 30 minutes

7. Blend the soup on a low setting (allow to cool for little while before blending)

8. Add a couple of tablespoon of coconut milk

9. Add salt and pepper to taste 

If you prefer your soup to be a little more watery, then add some more water and return to simmer for 5 minutes

10. Garnish and serve

This soup freezes really well so you can freeze some for another time.