Lemon Dhal Soup

It’s MasterChef final week, yeah. Such a shame that the nice Greek guy was dumped last Thursday as he was our favourite, we actively liked him. Now it’s down to the young one, the posh one and the beardy baldy cry baby one who sounds like Tony Blair. The posho is bound to win, but he is unfortunately a tad arrogant and we have taken a dislike to him. Last year’s posh winner was actually alright by the end and at least one of us at Yumblog warmed to him over the series, that ain’t happenin’ with this one. But now onto a dish that might get you into the second round of MasterChef if presented nicely.

‘Eagle-eyed UK readers of a certain age will no doubt have shed a nostalgic tear at the sight of the Timothy Whites Thermos flask lurking beneath the foliage in the photograph above‘

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Skill level: easy
Serves: 2 – 4

Ingredients

• red lentils – 400 g
• medium onion – sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic – crushed
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 chilli – chopped
• fresh ginger – grated – a piece about 3/4 inch long
• vegetable stock – 1.5 litres
• juice of 1 lemon
• vegetable oil
• salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and sweat the onions until soft but not coloured.

Add the ginger, chilli and garlic and sweat for a further 2 minutes.

Add the washed lentils and bay leaves and stir all the ingredients together.

Add the stock, bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes until the lentils are soft.

Remove the bay leaves and liquidise with a hand blender.

Add the lemon juice and season to taste.

Verdict: A lightly spiced, warming and hearty soup.

Drink: Water, although a salty lassi might be nice.

Entertainment: Trying to find any information about Timothy Whites on the Internet.