Meatless Mondays - Lentil soup

Here is a recipe for a delicious, hearty and nutritious soup I have made many times before. My kids love it and with today's chilly autumn weather, enjoyed a nice warming dinner.

It's from one of my most used cookbooks, The Greek Cook by Rena Salaman. I've had this cookbook for years and it contains some of our favourite recipes that I have made many times over. Today's was lentil soup. Here is my adapted recipe.

Lentil Soup
Bring 275g of brown red lentils to the boil uncovered, and cook for 3-4 mins. Strain and discard water.
Gently fry one sliced onion and one large clove of garlic in some olive oil. When they start to caramelize, add one thinly sliced carrot, two cans of chopped tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, 4 cups of hot water. Season and cover, cook for about 30-40mins on a simmer. (I was out of dried oregano and used chopped continental parsley instead. Just as good). We often eat this with goats cheese and crackers.

Today, soup was served with spinach and cheese borekas.

My little one had her first full day of creche today (2 weeks of school holidays might have made both of us ready) so I cooked for about 1.5 hours today. I try to fill the fridge with as many homemade dishes, soups, salads and dips when I can. These are used for school lunches, lunch for Zahara and I at home, lunch for Gill for work and snacks.

I made another favourite today which is great for brunch. Here's the recipe for a delicious egg dip. I often make it when we have brunch with friends or family. A lot of the preparation can be done the night before to make it quicker. I have also made it with Yasmin and Layla and they can make the whole thing (under instruction of course).

There are only a few ingredients, but they are key.

Moran's Egg Dip
Gently and slowly saute one chopped brown onion in one tablespoon of butter. Stir occasionally. You can leave this for 10mins on a very low heat. The onion will caramelise and taste sweet and delicious.
Boil dozen eggs. Plunge straight into a bowl of cold water to cool down.
Peel eggs and slice in egg slicer. I slice them both ways to get them chopped small.
Add about 2-3 tablespoons of American kosher mayonnaise. Using scissors, snip some chive into your egg dip. Season with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Happy Meatless Monday!