Spicy Carrot, Parsnip and Red Lentil Soup

So I made this soup because carrots and parsnips had been 39c a pack in Lidl, and I stocked right up. The days went by, I still hadn't used them and the last thing I wanted was for them to go to waste. I had a look at what else was in the kitchen and found a bag of red lentils, also approaching its BBE and a couple of sweet potatoes that had been there for a while as well.

I was in the mood for soup, so this recipe was born! It's really easy and so tasty too. If you don't want it too spicy, you can leave out the chilli and just add a shake of chilli powder instead to add a bit of warmth to it. This is a lovely winter soup, warms you right to the bones! The red lentils thicken the soup, when cooked they have a puréed consistency - makes for a really thick soup!

This soup is not only really low in fat, it's also loaded with vitamin A for eye and skin health, antioxidants for cancer prevention, folic acid for healthy pregnancies, vitamin C for general health and immune-system boost and contains loads of fibre for a healthy digestive tract.

Spicy Carrot, Parsnip & Red Lentil Soup
Ingredients
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
2 onions, chopped
1/2 red chilli, finely chopped (increase or decrease for more/less heat)
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cinnamon
5 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
200 g split red lentils
1.2 litre of vegetable stock - I only use like 1/2 a stock cube for this to limit the salt content - or if I've made a dinner the night before, I save the carrot/broccoli/potato water, put an onion and some garlic and use that instead! Not exactly proper stock but tastes just fine.

Method

1. Heat the oil in a nice big saucepan.
2. Add the onions, chilli, garlic and spices to the pan, and sweat them until they have softened and released their aroma. 
3. Add the carrots, parsnips and sweet potatoes, sauté for a few minutes; add the lentils and sauté for a few minutes more. 
4. Add the vegetable stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 mins, until the vegetables are soft.
5. Mash with a potato masher, or if you have one a stick blender. If it's too thick, add some boiling water, more stock or some normal or almond milk to thin it out a bit. Heat through again. Taste and season with black pepper and salt to taste.
6. Serve with warm crusty bread or focaccia. 

Garlic Chilli Prawns

This is a super easy recipe that looks fancy, but really isn't. And it's so full of flavours as well - the aroma in the kitchen when these are cooking is amazing!

You can use this recipe as a starter serving for 4, or a main for 2. Once again, I buy all my ingredients for this one in Lidl - convenient and affordable! This is my fiancé's favourite meal at the moment, so I've made it heaps of times - start to finish it takes about 20 mins to make - so great for a started for a big dinner or just a really quick meal on its own.

Garlic Chilli Prawns
Ingredients
2 packs of prawns
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 chilli, finely chopped
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
~30g butter (a good knob of butter really)

Demi-baguette, sliced
butter and oil

Method

1. Put the oil and the butter on the frying pan, and heat until the butter is melted and starts sizzling. Now, I say rapeseed oil because that's my personal preference due to its lower levels of saturated fats and higher levels of heart-healthy omega 3 fatty acids, but olive oil is totally perfect too. 
2. Tip the minced garlic and finely chopped chillis into the pan. Turn the heat down to moderate at this stage so the garlic doesn't burn. 
3. When the veg has softened a bit, approx 2 mins, add the prawns to the pan. Add a good splash of boiling water as well to create a bit of a sauce around them. 
4. Cook the prawns for 2 or 3 mins on either side. Add more boiling water if it dries up too much. 
5. Scoop the prawns and veg out into the serving dish. Pour the liquid from the pan over them. 
6. Place the dish into a warmed oven to keep them hot. 
7. Put some more butter and oil on the pan - not too much this time. Place the sliced bread onto the hot pan and fry until crispy and golden on the one side. Serve with the prawns for dipping.