As the winter chills begin, nothing is more heart warming than a warm broth or soup. I am spending time in Sydney at this time of the year, (see here for a beachside market.) I take a walk in the nearby park, get the sun on me, and some excercise. The Harris Farm supermarket is closeby, so its a ‘walk to the market’every other day to buy vegetables that are on ‘Specials’ or discounted rates – sweet potatoes, zucchini, pumpkin, mandarin oranges, or even the Lindt dark chocolate slabs that are on specials!

See here for pumpkin soup which was a kind of winter staple during my New Zealand college days. ( To my pleasant astonishment, I only learnt in summer, that soups are a winter thing!)

Here is the perfect creamy soup I made last night. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 Roasted Red bell peppers/ Capsicum

1 onion medium

2 punnets of cherry tomatoes ( they were on discount Special…haha)

1 carrot

2 tbsp of red lentils

salt, pepper, 4-5 cloves, water…as required

1 spoon of yoghurt or sour cream (optional, for dressing)

1 tbsp. plain flour or wheat flour (optional)

Grill or roast the bell pepper on gas stove, turning it evenly. The skin becomes soft and pulpy and you can remove the roasted black skin once done. Set aside.

Cut the carrots into big cubes. Chop the tomatoes. Put 4-5 cups water to boil in large pot. Drizzle olive oil. stir fry onion till translucent. Add chopped carrots, tomatoes, and red lentils and bring to boil for 10- 15 minutes. Add the cloves, salt, pepper to give it the rich aroma. Once soft, set aside to cool. Remove any tomato skin if loose.

In a small pan drizzle oil or butter and roast /fry the flour till colour changes to soft brown. pour into the soup mixture.

Puree /blend the thick mixture and the chopped bell pepper to semi fine paste. Add the rest of the boiled water to get the soupy consistency, as required.

Put the soup mixture into a large pot, and warm it on gas…do NOT boil! the taste differs, or it curdles.

Adjust the water and taste. Serve warm into seperate bowls. Add a spoonful of beaten yoghurt or sour cream for dressing and richness. Serve some fresh baked olive bread. Or maybe just crackers and feta cheese and avocado slices. Simple, nourishing, warm!

What’s your favourite soup? What time of the year do you drink soup?

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