Turmeric Haricot Vegetable Soup
Serves 4, generously
Ingredients
100g piombi pasta or any mini pasta shapes
Extra virgin olive oil, enough to cover the base of the pan plus a good slosh for the pasta
1 onion, finely chopped
2 or 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or crushed
2-3cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 sticks celery, finely chopped
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 tablespoon dried mixed herbs
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
1 red pepper, diced
100g red split lentils, rinsed
3 carrots, diced
1 sweet potato, diced
1 x 400g tin haricot beans, drained and rinsed
Small bunch spring onions, chopped
Small bunch chives, chopped
Pinch of sea salt
Few grinds of black pepper
Method
Leave the lid on at each stage when you are cooking this soup, the steam helps the vegetables cook nicely and more efficiently.
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the pasta. Cook according to packet instructions, drain and rinse thoroughly in cold water. Set aside and stir through a good slosh of olive oil.
Put the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan on a gentle heat and add the onions, garlic, ginger and celery followed by the turmeric, herbs, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Stir and let cook for five minutes, then add the red pepper and cook until the onions and red pepper are soft but not browned. This takes about 10 minutes. If the onions start to stick, turn down the heat and add a splash of water.
Add the lentils and small cup of water, give it a good stir and leave to simmer for five minutes.
Put the carrots and sweet potato into the pan and mix everything together. Add cold water to cover the vegetables. Bring to a simmer and cook until the lentils and vegetables are soft, this will take about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally and add more water if necessary.
When the vegetables in the soup are soft, take the pan off the heat, remove the bay leaf and blitz with a hand blender until roughly blended. Stir through the haricot beans and pasta and return to the heat to bring the soup back to a simmer.
Finally take off the heat and stir through the chives and spring onion. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.