Spicy tomato & lentil soup

Spice up a simple tomato soup recipe with chilli and paprika, then serve with a dollop of sour cream and chive dip and warm crusty bread

Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 30-40mins
Serves: 4-6

Per serving:
Energy (kcal): 454
Fat (g): 25.9
of which saturates (g): 12.4
Total sugars (g): 12.4
Salt (g): 1.24
This recipes proves almost the full GDA of Vitamin C

What you need:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 15ml/1tbsp ground paprika
• 5ml/1tsp crushed chilli flakes
• 175g/6oz red lentils
• 1 (800g) can chopped tomatoes
• 1.15lt/2pts vegetable or chicken stock
• 30ml/2tbsp chopped fresh coriander
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (200g) pot of fresh sour cream and chive dip
• crusty bread to serve

What you do:

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and pepper and cook over a gentle heat for 6-8mins or until pale golden. Add the garlic, paprika and chilli and stir for 30 seconds.
2. Stir in the lentils, tomatoes and stock. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 30 mins or until the lentils are really tender and beginning to break up.
3. Stir in the coriander and adjust the seasoning to taste.
4. Blend the soup in a food processor or with a hand held blender until just smooth. Serve ladled into bowls topped with a dollop of sour cream and chive dip.