Spiced carrot and lentil soup

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I made gallons of this today - oh, OK, 2 litres of it - to help to use up a big bag of carrots I got for 25p (yellow sticker, of course).
The rest are now diced and in the freezer, 'open' freezing.  Thanks, Diane, for the idea!

It has made a lovely, golden orange soup, smooth and creamy tasting with just a hint of spice about it!

Ingredients to make 2 litres
some oil or butter
half tsp cumin (or a bit more, if desired)
1 good sized onion, peeled and diced
550g carrots (but hey, what's a carrot or two between friends), topped, tailed, any manky bits cut off and discarded, and diced
1 outside rib of celery (more flavour than inside ribs), sliced - no need to de-string as it's all getting blended anyway
a squeeze of both garlic and chili purees (to taste)
100g red lentils
1 litre of hot veg stock - I used 4 tsp Marigold vegan vegetable stock powder (because that was what I had) with a litre of hot water.
125mls milk
a grinding of black pepper

Method
In a large pan heat up the oil/butter and add the cumin, onion, carrots and celery, stir well and saute for about five minutes or so, stirring to prevent sticking.
Add the garlic and chilli, stir well and saute for another two minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients, put the lid on the pan, bring to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are soft and the lentils are cooked.

Cool slightly and then blend until smooth in a machine or using a hand held blender.  Check seasoning and adjust if necessary.  I added just a little salt but the stock provided most of what was needed.

Serve piping hot with a dollop of yogurt.

OR:
The Thermomix way

Add the oil/butter, vegetables and cumin to the bowl and saute on 100, speed 1 for 10 mins, adding the garlic and chilli in the last two minutes.
Add the rest of the ingredients and cook on 100 for 20 mins or until the veg is soft and the lentils are cooked.
Cool slightly.
Zizz on speed 10 for a minute.  Put a tea towel over the lid in case any splashes through the top.
Check seasonings and adjust if necessary.  I added just a little more salt but the stock provided most of what was needed.

Serve piping hot with a dollop of yogurt.


This will freeze.