Recipes
Lentil & vegetable soup with cheese straws
You could make the cheese straws well in advance and freeze them – either raw or cooked.
You could make the cheese straws well in advance and freeze them – either raw or cooked.
Cook: 1 Hour 30 Mins
Serves: 6
Price: 96p per serving
Nutritional Information
Each 405g serving contains
Energy
1462kj
349kcal
1462kj
349kcal
18%
Fat
15.1g
15.1g
Med
21%
21%
Saturates
6.7g
6.7g
Med
33%
33%
Sugars
13.5g
13.5g
High
15%
15%
Salt
0.8g
0.8g
Med
14%
14%
2
of your 5-a-dayof your reference intake.
Typical energy values per 100g:
361kj/86kcal
Typical energy values per 100g:
361kj/86kcal
Ingredients
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 chopped onion
1 garlic clove
500g peeled, cubed butternut squash (flesh only)
500g peeled, cubed sweet potato
150g sliced carrots
1 vegetable stock cube
75g split red lentils
1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
150g reduced-fat crème fraîche
225g plain flour
¼ level tsp mustard powder
Pinch of cayenne pepper
150g chilled salted butter
50g grated mature Cheddar
2 large free-range eggs
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
3 tbsp tomato purée
50g grated Parmesan
15g extra Parmesan for sprinkling on top
Method
1
Heat 2 tbsp sunflower oil in a pan and cook 1 chopped onion until soft. Add 1 finely chopped garlic clove and cook for another minute.
2
Add squash, sweet potato, carrots and vegetable stock cube, dissolved in 700ml hot water. Heat until simmering.
3
Rinse red lentils in a sieve under cold running water. Drain and add to the pan with parsley, thyme and tomato purée. Heat until simmering again.
4
Cover the pan and simmer for 25 minutes or until the vegetables are really tender.
5
Cool for 20 minutes, then purée the soup in a blender or processor until smooth enough to drink from a mug. You may need to add a little water.
6
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Line two baking trays. Sift flour, mustard powder and cayenne pepper into a bowl.
7
Cube butter, add to the flour, then rub in with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in Cheddar and Parmesan.
8
Beat 2 eggs and add about half to the flour and butter. Mix with a round-bladed knife until it starts to form clumps. Gather with your hands to form a stiff, but not sticky, dough. Flatten, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 20 minutes.
9
Roll out on a floured surface to 1/2cm thick. Cut into 1cm x 12cm straws, put on the trays, with a gap between each.
10
Brush with the remaining egg and sprinkle with 15g grated Parmesan. Bake for 12-15 minutes until pale golden brown. Cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes. Move to a wire tray to finish cooling.
11
Stir crème fraîche into the soup and reheat. Sprinkle with black pepper and serve in mugs with the cheese straws.