Time for more soup… and more flatbread! I think this flatbread recipe will become my go-to soup accompaniment- made fresh it’s just so good! This time I made it using spelt flour plus baking powder (use 3 tsp baking powder per 200g spelt flour) and it was so soft and fluffy with an amazingly crisp crust.

This spiced lentil soup was lovely and warming helped along by a chilli kick! The lentils and chickpeas also made for a great protein packed meal. If you wanted to bulk it up a little more or didn’t have any bread to hand you could top it with some cous-cous instead.

Soups are so easy to make and I always make sure I cook up a big portion and freeze leftovers for work day lunches. I make all my soups in my Thermomix, as it’s perfect for the job as an all-in-one gadget, but I have given the more typical blender method below.

So, after such a virtuous first course….what is for dessert?  May be sticky toffee pudding or chocolate brownie torte?

Or if like me this will become lunch at the office, then keep your eyes peeled for my forthcoming granola bar experiments, the perfect fill-you-up, feel good snack to round things of just nicely!

Recipe: Spicy lentil and chickpea soup

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• ½ tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red onion (diced)
• 150g red lentils
• 900ml vegetable stock
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 200g cooked/canned chickpeas
• Small handful of coriander
• Dollop of or soy yoghurt or swirl of soy cream to serve

Method

Dry fry cumin and chilli flakes for 1-2 minutes. Add the oil and onion and fry for a further 5 minutes. Stir in lentils, vegetable stock and tomatoes then simmer for 15 minutes. Blend the soup with a hand blender to get a rough puree. Add the chickpeas and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Stir through the roughly chopped coriander and serve with a blob of yoghurt or a swirl or cream.

Left over portions can be frozen.