Lentil, Coconut and Spinach Soup

Serves 8

250g/½lb. lentils

11/4 cups vegetable stock

1 large onion, chopped

1 tbsp. cumin, ground

150g/ ¼ cup coconut cream (see note)

2 tbsp. soy sauce

150g/ ¼ lb. spinach leaves (see note)

seasoning

Rinse lentils and place in a large pan. Cover lentils with 1 inch of water and bring to a boil for 10 minutes. Watch and add more liquid if needed.
Add the remaining ingredients, except spinach (see note) and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the lentils are cooked. Stir in the spinach and serve with warm, crusty bread.

The soup should be relatively thick, so avoid adding too much liquid. The finished soup looks a bit gray, but is delicious. Possible additions might be to sauté the onions with some garlic in a little oil before starting the lentils, and to add some Turmeric.

Coconut Cream is peculiarly British. If you have it, dissolve it in an equal amount of boiling water. You can substitute Coconut Milk, used without thinning. Adjust the liquid if necessary.

Spinach: The recipe calls for Baby Spinach, added when the soup is served. If you use older spinach, put carefully washed and torn-up leaves in the soup to cook about 10 minutes before the soup is done.

Adapted from "BBC Vegetarian", March 1999

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