Curried Sweet Potato and Red Lentil Soup (Adapted from Hugh Fearley-Whittingstall’s Veg Book to be Slimming World Friendly!)

Spray a large heavy saucepan with frylight.  Chop 2 onions, 3 cloves garlic, a large knob of peeled and grated fresh root ginger and 1 fresh red chilli.  Sweat these down in the pan on a medium heat, adding a few tablespoons of water as the mixture dries out.  Add in 1 tbsp ground coriander and 2 tsp curry powder.  Cook for another 2-3 mins, adding a small amount of water if too dry.

Meanwhile, peel 3 large or 5 smaller sweet potatoes and cut into cubes of about 1 inch.  Add the sweet potatoes to the onion mixture and 1 teacupful of Red Lentils.  Stir for a few minutes to coat in the spices, then add about 1 litre of water and 2 tbsp Marigold Veg stock powder (or stock cubes – or use fresh stock if you have any).  Grind in some black pepper, bring to the boil then simmer on a low heat for approx 30 mins until the potatoes and the lentils are soft.  Add salt to taste after cooking (apparently if you add salt to beans or lentils before cooking they become tough!)

(The original version uses olive oil to sweat the onions, and a can of coconut milk at the end with some lime juice).

Blend the soup once it’s cooked, and serve with a generous dollop of low fat yogurt and lots of chopped fresh coriander or watercress.