🍲 The Secret of Spiced Lentil Soup! 🌶️

Hey Soup Enthusiast, 

Welcome to our first email from Soup & Sauce! I am thrilled by the responses and number of soup enthusiasts who have shown interest in this newsletter and joined the community. Today I am eager to share my latest soup creation.

🍲 Today's soup: Spiced Lentil Soup! 

Take a look at this simple vegan soup, a real winter warmer!

With just one tablespoon of garam masala and a whole red chilli slit down the middle, then taken out before blending, I was surprised at how spicy it was. Unfortunately, the flavour was subtle, and a Vegi stock would have made all the difference.

Here is how I would cook it in the future.

📝 Ingredients: Serves 3 to 4 

• 800ml of water 

• 400ml coconut milk

• 200g red split lentils 

• 1 large red chilli 

• 4 large vine tomato's 

• 1 vegi-stock cube 

• 3cm grated ginger

• 1 tablespoon of garam masala

• 2 teaspoons of cumin 

• Salt 

• Naan bread and cashews to serve

Note - You could create a water-based Vegi stock to replace the water) 

Recipe 

1. Heat up the water and coconut milk in a large pot.

2. Cut a large slit down the chilli and add it to the pot whole it will be removed later.

3. Add the lentils to the pot with a pinch of salt.

4. Halve the tomatoes and add them to the pot.

5. Add the ginger, garam masala, cumin and vegi stock to the pot.

6. Simmer for approximately 30 minuets until the lentils are soft.

7. Remove and discard the chili.

8. Blend with a food processor, stick blender, ect.

9. Serve with Naan bread and sprinkle with cashews before serving.

🌶️ Ingredient of the week: Chilli 

After tasting the immense spice, the chilli gave to the spiced lentil soup, I have chosen the red chilli as ingredient of the week. I challenge you to use the red chilli in your cooking this week. If you make a soup, sauce or soup-based meal, with the ingredient of the week, you could have the chance of featuring in our next Community Showcase!

Hot Topic - Did you know the hottest part of the chilli is not the seeds but the white flesh that hold the seeds which is called the placenta? 

👩‍🍳 Today's community showcase 

If you want a chance of featuring in next week's email, simply reply to this email with a photo of your soup, sauce, or soup-based meal, along with helpful information like a recipe or tip for the community. If you want your name included, type "Use my name [Enter Your Name]" in your reply. 

🌍 Beyond the Ladle: Soup News Highlights  

Launch of Soup & Sauce 

I am super excited to have launched the Soup & Sauce newsletter and bring the soup community together! I wanted to thank you all for the enthusiasm and encouragement shown over the leadup to this email and I hope to have met your expectations. 

There is a lot to do over the upcoming months and every little helps. I encourage you to share this email with people who love soup and help bring the community together. I also encourage you to reply with suggestions that could help improve the newsletter for the community. I plan on creating a social group such as on fakebook or even better our own website so we can bring the community even closer. 

Better images for Soup & Sauce newsletter 

I am a little disappointed with the quality of the pictures I have taken for this week's newsletter so, next week I have decided to break out my camara and improve the image quality. 

🚀 Your Turn to Stir the Pot 

What's your go-to spice? Hit reply and let's stir the pot together! Your insights might just spark the next big flavour in our community. 

Your soup journey awaits,
Sean
Soup & Sauce

Original recipe credit: Hannah Miles

🍜 P.S. Soup Hack Alert! 

Swap your regular bread for naan with your Indian inspired soups — it's a game-changer! Try it and thank me later. 😉