What we need this time of year is colour. There’s precious little of it outside so let’s look for it elsewhere. This dead easy soup has value added comfort, plus the smell in the kitchen is borderline orgasmic. I might have gone a bit far with the Mexican tray and rainbow tulips but it hasn’t half cheered me up. Hope it has the same effect on you.
25g butter
750g tomatoes, chopped
100g red lentils
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 orange
1 bay leaf
900ml good stock (Marigold is best)
Salt
Pepper
Prep time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 1 hour
Heat the butter in a large pan. Add the onions, carrot and lentils and cook gently for five minutes. Peel the rind off the orange with a spud peeler and add it to the pan with the tomatoes and bay leaf. Pour in the stock, season, bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for an hour. Remove the bay leaf and blitz. Add the orange juice; serve hot or cold (with or without cream but with chunky bread).