21/09/2025
🌿 The Gentle Table of Freedom Hill Sanctuary 🌿
A gathering place where kindness is the main ingredient, where every dish tells a story of compassion, and where we celebrate food that nourishes body, soul, and the world around us.
🌱Silky Lentil Soup 🌱
This soul-warming soup is perfect for days when you need comfort in a bowl. Gentle on the stomach, brimming with goodness, and rich in flavour, it’s also a wonderful way to sneak in extra vegetables for little ones.
Ingredients
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 1 green or red pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 courgette, roughly chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 200 g (7 oz) split red lentils, washed
• 1 1/4 L (1 3/4 pt) vegetable stock
• 1 x 400 g (14 oz) tin plum tomatoes
• 2 tsp tomato purée
• 1 bay leaf
• Sea salt and black pepper
• Fresh parsley or coriander, to garnish
Method
1. Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onion, and cook gently for 5–7 minutes until soft. Stir in the pepper, carrot, courgette, and cook for 3 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, cumin, and coriander, stir, and cook for 1 more minute.
3. Add the lentils, stock, tomatoes with juice, tomato purée, and bay leaf. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until the lentils and vegetables are soft.
4. Remove the bay leaf and blend with an immersion blender or food processor until smooth. If too thick, thin with extra stock.
5. Season to taste, reheat gently, and serve garnished with parsley or coriander.
Serves 4–6.
💚 Recipe from 500 Vegan Dishes by Deborah Gray (New Holland Publishers)
📸 Shared with love from Freedom Hill Sanctuary
Freedom Hill Sanctuary ~ Where Life Begins
