Warming lentil soup with crispy-fried potatoes

As much as I love to make plans, sometimes I love to cancel plans even more. This is precisely what I did today, resulting in one incredibly pleasant Saturday. If you are lucky enough to be able to cancel everything and have a duvet day, then I recommend it. This is how I spent mine: drank good coffee while writing in bed; popped out to buy a sausage sandwich from Mess Cafe; drank more coffee while writing some more; cuddled up to Coco the cat; went for an laughably short run, then back into Mess Cafe to buy another sausage sandwich - this time for a homeless person with sad eyes; had a bath; got back into bed and messed around on facebook; drank more good coffee and powered by that coffee I wrote some more; tickled Coco for a bit; surfed the internet; made that hearty lentil soup you see down there and ate it greedily congratulating myself with every spoonful, popped out to get some honey and discovered Malt Extract at Holland and Barrett (if you could have an orgasm from food, then this is the food that would give it to you - enough said); made flapjacks with the said Malt Extract; did a spot of Kundalini yoga and meditation... and here I am now, feeling rather pleased with myself and shamelessly cancelling more plans

 

Ingredients (4 servings)

250 grams red lentils

1/2 red onion, chopped finely

1 carrot, grated

1 red chilli, chopped

1 clove of garlic, choped

1l vegetable stock

Tin of chopped tomates

1/2 teaspoon coriander

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon soya sauce

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

Plenty of water

Potatoes, chopped but not peeled

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 duvet day, optional

Fry the onion and chilli for a couple of minutes in some olive oil. Add the carrot, garlic and spices, and fry some more. Add the lentils (I didn't need to soak mine, but soak yours first if this is what it says on the packet) and the stock. Turn the heat down, cover and leave to simmer for 20min. About now, you may want to start frying your chopped potatoes. Do this on a reasonably high heat so that they get all nice'n'crispy. Stir the chopped tomatoes into your soup, and add the soya sauce, vinegar and honey. Allow to simmer for another 20min, then add plenty of water (so that the soup is of a consistency that you enjoy most), season with salt and pepper, and allow to simmer for another 10mins before serving with your crispy potatoes inside.The thing about this soup, is that it's even better eaten the next day, just add more water, simmer for 10 more minutes and add some fresh crispy-fried potatoes