Winter vegetable & lentil soup

 When it's cold outside, treat yourself to a healthy homemade vegetable soup, packed with immunity-supporting vitamin C and four of your 5-a-day.

Ingredients

    85g dried red lentils

    2 carrots, quartered lengthways then diced

    3 sticks celery, sliced

    2 small leeks, sliced

    2 tbsp tomato purée

    1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

    3 large garlic cloves, chopped

    1 tbsp vegetable bouillon powder

    1 heaped tsp ground coriander

Method

    STEP 1

    Tip all the ingredients into a large pan. Pour over 1½ litres boiling water, then stir well.

    STEP 2

    Cover and leave to simmer for 30 mins until the vegetables and lentils are tender.

    STEP 3

    Ladle into bowls and eat straightaway, or if you like a really thick texture, blitz a third of the soup with a hand blender or in a food processor.

By Sara Buenfeld