LEMONY LENTILY SOUP

Soup is such a brilliant way of getting lots of nutrients into your system in a gentle, easy to digest form. For the longest time I lived off soup because my body couldn't cope with anything more taxing & this is a recipe I love because it has lots of flavour without onion, which can be problematic when your digestive system is not 100%.
The Vitamin C in the lemon means better absorption of the Iron in the lentils. Some foods just work better together!
If you are not eating the soup straight away & storing it in the fridge then the whole thing will kind of solidify! - If you've ever had Dhal as part of an Indian takeaway you'll note it can be very liquid when you first get it, but if you put any leftovers in the fridge it will do the same thing. In this case you will need some more stock to revive it when you're ready to eat it.

serves 3
150 g red lentils
150 g sweet potato (sliced & diced)
900 ml stock (chicken or vegetable - homemade or from a cube)
1 tablespoon lemon zest (from an unwaxed lemon preferably organic)
juice of half a lemon
2 teaspoons mild curry powder
4 slices lemon
fresh coriander to garnish

The quality/ taste of any soup you make largely relies on the stock you use. For this one I used homemade fresh stock made from leeks, carrots, butternut squash, sweet potato, potato & a bit of fresh ginger & it worked brilliantly.

1 Rinse the lentils under a cold tap for 30 seconds.
2 Place the red lentils & sweet potatoes in a saucepan with the stock, curry powder, lemon zest &juice & bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, place a lid on the pan & leave to simmer gently for about 15 mins until the potatoes are soft & the lentils are cooked.
2  Using a slotted spoon, remove about half of the red lentils (doesn't need to be exact,) and put in a bowl to one side.
3 Put the rest of the soup into a blender & let it cool a bit before blitzing. Once blended, return the soup to the saucepan and add in the red lentils you put to one side. Add the lemon slices and gently warm the soup ready to serve.

I like to garnish with fresh coriander (but I forgot in the one pictured!)