Chorizo, lentil and sweet potato soup...

I had chorizo, so wanted to make some sort of soup: I found a recipe here  and adapted it: It all worked in the microwave, too, taking around thirty minutes from start to finish.

Gently fry a good length of chorizo for a couple of minutes in a tablespoon of olive oil and a little butter.
Add 1 chopped onion, fry for another 5 minutes until soft.
Meanwhile, chop 2 large cloves of garlic and half a large red pepper. Add to onion mix with a large handful of red lentils, rinsed, a stock cube and around 300 - 400 ml of water, to cover the mixture quite generously. Cook for five minutes.
Also, meanwhile, chop a large sweet potato (or two large ordinary potatoes) into 1 inch cubes and add to mix with a large tablespoon of paprika and a little salt.
Continue cooking while you cut up a small butternut squash.
Add squash to mix, adjust water as necessary and cook at least another 5 minutes or until the lentils are cooked and the vegetables soft.

It was, apparently, quite delicious. Even The Fussy Husband said it was good. It was just too spicy hot for me: one taste, to adjust seasoning, and my throat was on fire.

Soup ideas

I love soup - but tend not to follow recipes - not always a good idea.  So thought I'd jot down a few good ones here and add to them as I come across them. The key to good soup is superb stock. Not always possible, but I need to remind myself of that and use stock I have stored in the freezer.


Ham and Corn Chowder (from Karen Ehman's blog). Basically, boil 1/2 a cup each of chopped onion and celery with 2 cups chopped potatoes in 2 cups chicken stock. When soft, add 1 tbspn butter, 1 cup finely chopped ham, 1 cup sweetcorn, 1 can cream of chicken soup (or just 1/2 cup stock and 1/2 cup creamy milk or cream, I guess) and 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese.  Just before serving, add 4 floz sour cream or creamy milk, thin if necessary.

Lentil and Tomato soup: onion, lentils, tomatoes, tomato puree and GOOD STOCK

Butternut Squash