Tasty and nourishing lentil veggie soup bursting with smoky, spicy taco flavors and loaded with all your favorite toppings. It's easy to make all in one pot with lots of flexibility. You will love this fun and delicious Mexican style spin on lentil soup.
1tspchili powder, increase this for a spicier finish
2tspssoy sauce
½tspfennel seeds
14oz(400g)can of chopped or diced tomatoes
¾cups(140g)dried green lentils
4cups(950ml)vegetable stock, see notes
½cup(8tbsp)frozen sweetcorn kernels
Toppings of Choice
Sour cream
Grated cheese
Olives
Avocado slices or cubes
Cilantro, coriander leaves
Instructions
Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a big soup pot.
Saute your onions and peppers for a few minutes until soft.
Add your mushrooms and garlic and cook until the mushrooms are reducing.
Time to add in the seasonings! The fennel seeds go in first - mix them through until the fragrance is released. Then add the smoked paprika, oregano, cumin, coriander and chili powder. Mix through until the spices are well incorporated with the vegetables and the fragrance is released.
Add the soy sauce and stir until incorporated. Cook until your vegetables are soft and caramelized. (There's a picture in the blog post to show what they'll look like.)
Add the tinned tomatoes and dried lentils, mix through.
Finally add the vegetable stock and frozen sweetcorn and bring to a simmer.
Simmer for 20-30 minutes until the green lentils are soft.
To serve, ladle into bowls and add your toppings of choice.
Notes
Nutritional information excludes toppings.This makes 4 meal sized portions but can stretch to feed 6 if you're serving alongside something else. (A cheese quesadilla for dipping perhaps?)For the vegetable stock / broth, I just like to round up to two stock cubes to my 5 cups of water - this is a little more concentrated than the recommended amount but it works out fine.