My homemade tomato, vegetable and lentil soup

You can also use half a leek if you prefer.

You can also use 2 tins of crushed tomatoes, but you’ll need to reduce the added water to 1 pint. Whatever you use, it’s better to go for salt-free versions

You can use other lentils, but as they’re harder to cook, they’ll need soaking overnight first

You can use more for a thinner texture or less for a thicker texture

1 teaspoon each of dried thyme and basil

1 teaspoon of ground black pepper

Few sprigs of chopped fresh coriander

Place the lentils in a large saucepan and add the water. Bring to a boil then simmer gently, remembering to stir from time to time

Don’t let the lentils stick to the bottom of the saucepan

Once the lentils are simmering, add the diced vegetables, olive oil and herbs (except for the paprika) to a separate pan and fry until the onions become translucent and begin to turn brown. Remove from heat

Once the lentils have been simmering for at least 20 minutes, you can add the fried vegetables/herbs and the remaining paprika to the simmering lentils

Now add the tomato puree or tinned tomatoes to the simmering mixture and stir well

Keep gently simmering for at least another 20 minutes, stirring from time to time

Check the consistency – don’t let the mixture become too thick otherwise the lentils will catch and burn on the bottom of the saucepan. The correct consistency is down to preference. However, when you stir the mixture with a wooden spoon, you should be able to see ‘where’ the mixture was stirred immediately after removing the spoon

The soup will now be ready to serve, but you can keep it hot on the stove, provided you keep the water topped up