It’s starting to get a bit chilly here in Taiwan, so I’m cracking out my cookbooks. This winter, I’ve challenged myself to start cooking with ingredients that I’ve never used before.
I’ve been on a bit of a bean and legumes kick lately, so the first recipe for my winter cooking challenge is a hearty, warming bowl of red lentil and chickpea soup. This recipe from BBC Good Food is super easy to follow, it cooks in about 20 minutes, it’s low-fat, and it’s super healthy and vegetarian friendly. I was really pleased with the results and even my husband thought it was a winner.
Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- large pinch of chili flakes
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3/4 cup of red lentils
- 850 ml vegetable stock
- 400g can of tomatoes, whole or chopped
- 1/2 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- roughly chopped coriander for garnishing
- 1 teaspoon of Greek yogurt per bowl
- Heat a large saucepan and Dry-fry the cumin seeds and chilli flakes for 1 min in a heated saucepan. You know they’re ready when they start to jump around in the pan and release their aromas.
- Add in onion and oil; cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the lentils, tomatoes and stock. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes until the lentils are soft.
- Puré the soup in a food processor until it is a rough purée. Pour it back into the pan and add the chickpeas.
- Heat gently, season and stir in the coriander. Add a spoonful of yogurt and some coriander leaves.
Per serving: 222 kcalories, protein 13g, carbohydrates 33g, fat 5g, saturated fat 0g, fibre 6g, sugar 6g, salt 0.87 g
Canadian expat Carrie Kellenberger has kept a home base with her husband in Asia since 2003. A prolific traveler, Carrie has funded her travels primarily as a writer, editor, travel blogger and photographer, but she has also worked as an educator, voice over artist, model and nightclub singer. She draws upon her 15+ years of travel experience to write about travel-related issues and the countries she has visited on her award-winning web site, My Several Worlds.
Her photography and travel articles have appeared in both print and online publications around the world, including Travel and Leisure Asia, Unearthing Asia and Hip Compass Escapes.
