This really is the best tomato soup recipe I have tried! Perfect for the cooler weather, it’s got lots of veggies with a tad of spice. I used the original recipe from Cookie & Kate and made some minor adjustments. For the kids, I used my usual trick of serving it to them over pasta spirals.

Ingredients

• 2 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow or white onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and thinly chopped
• 1 zucchini, thinly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• ½ teaspoon thyme
• 800g tin diced tomatoes, lightly drained
• 400g tin brown lentils, drained
• 4 cups vegetable broth/stock
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
• Pinch of red pepper flakes, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 cup baby spinach
• 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice (½ medium lemon), to taste

Instructions

1. Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
2. Once the oil is shimmering, add the chopped onion, carrot and zucchini and cook, stirring often, until the onion has softened and is turning translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the garlic, cumin, curry powder and thyme. Cook until fragrant while stirring constantly, about 30 seconds.
4. Pour in the diced tomatoes and cook for a few more minutes, stirring often, in order to enhance their flavor.
5. Pour in the lentils and broth. Add salt, pepper and pepper flakes flakes. Gently simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the lentils are tender but still hold their shape.
6. Use stick blender to blitz soup until broken down but not completely smooth (alternatively transfer soup to blender and pulse then pour the puréed soup back into the pot).
7. Add the baby spinach and lemon and cook for 5 more minutes.
8. Serve while hot. Leftovers will keep well for about 4 days in the refrigerator, or can be frozen for several months (just defrost before serving).