Berlin potato and lentil soup

Tam West

This is a thick soup of lentils, carrot, onion, garlic, dried mushrooms, celery, potatoes, vegetable stock, parsley, served with sour cream, spring onions and lemon zest. I cooked with some home cooks a few years ago in Berlin and they made a soup like this. It is a meal.

Ingredients

200 g	Lentils, brown or green, rinsed and drained (Main)
3 Tbsp	Extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ Ltr	Vegetable stock (Main)
1 large	Onion, finely chopped
600 g	Agria potatoes, peeled, cut in 3cm chunks (Main)
300 g	Carrots, peeled, diced in 2cm chunks
1 stick	Celery, thinly sliced
20 g	Dried mushrooms, French or Italian, cut into smaller pieces
3 Tbsp	Tomato paste
200 g	Sour cream, beaten smooth (Main)
2	Spring onions, thinly sliced
1 large	Lemon, zest only

Directions

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil.
2. Add the lentils and boil for 20 minutes or until tender.
3. Drain well, place in a heatproof bowl, add the oil andmix well. Reserve.
4. Place the stock, onion, potatoes, carrots, celery and mushrooms into a large saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer, skimming occasionally, for 15 minutes or until everything is tender.
5. Add the lentils and tomato paste and mix well. Simmera further 5 minutes, taste and season.
6. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling ofspring onions and lemon zest.

More hearty vegetarian meals from Ray

• Baked rice cake with leeks and cheese and spicy tomato sauce
• Silken tofu simmered with vegetables in ginger soy broth