• 175g red split lentils (the kind that don't need soaking)
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 1 tsp tumeric
  • 2 tsp grated fresh root ginger
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1000ml water
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/2 lemon (juice of)

This is is brilliant, brilliant budget food, look at the ingredients pic! It’s just lentils and onion and spices. Do garlic and ginger count as spices? They do for these rhetorical purposes. The lemon makes all the difference, though, don’t leave that out. This is a very very simple lunch, filling and warming on a rainy British June day. Make sure you get lentils that state that they don’t need soaking, and you’re away.

Prep Time: 5 mins | Cook Time: 40 mins | Servings: 4
Nutritional info: 216 kcal, 30g carbs, 8g fat, 11g protein

Ingredients:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s this? Softening onion! How many pictures of a similar activity have I taken, I wonder? Many. Soften the onion, for about 5 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add the garlic, ginger, bay leaf and tumeric, and fry gently for about 5 minutes more:

Add the lentils, and water, and simmer for about half an hour, until the lentils are very tender. About half way through I added a pinch of chilli, but I don’t think that’s particularly orthodox.

When cooked, blend well, season to taste (I added a lot of salt) and squeeze in lemon to bring out the taste (you’ll be surprised at how much this transforms the soup, well, I was anyway)

Serve!