So today’s recipe is a bit of a cheat! There are Gremlins in my site somewhere and I need to spend time working on it trying to sort it out! So, here is a recipe I created a while ago, but still use regularly. The weather here is cold today – we’ve gone back to 6c (43f) so soup is definitely welcome!
This week we’ve been using the slow cooker – we had a very aromatic aubergine casserole with dumplings, and an adzuki bean and bulghur chilli. I also discovered the most simple soup in the world which I will share when I take some photos!
What have you been cooking this week? What would you like to see me cook next? Who wants my authentic tagine recipe?! 🙂 Oh, we made jam roly poly pudding too (for the boys, don’t think I got any)! and we’ve been playing with whipped cream recipes! 😀
For now, have a look at this soup recipe, then get cooking!
A filling warming soup with protein packed lentils and delicious okra!
- Splash of oil of choice
- 1/2 medium leek diced
- 1 small onion diced
- 1-2 cloves fresh garlic chopped
- 1 medium tomato diced
- 2 teaspoons Cajun spice
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- Salt to taste
- 200 g green lentils
- 1-2 litres boiling water
- 2 medium carrots grated
- 500 ml passata
- 200 g frozen okra (use fresh if you can get it)
Melt or heat the oil and add the leek and onion. Cook until starting to brown then add the garlic.
Stir in the tomato and cook for one minute. Add the Cajun, coriander, oregano and salt. Allow to cook for a minute then add the lentils. Stir to coat.
Cover with boiling water (approx. 1 litre), cover and leave for 30 minutes.
Add the carrots, passata and more boiling water (up to a litre) if needed, then cover and cook for a further 30 minutes.
Do a taste test and also check to see if the lentils are cooked. Adjust seasoning of necessary.
Stir in the okra and allow to cook for a further 10 minutes. Enjoy!
- Serve steaming hot as it is!
- Dunk your favourite bread in.
- Add a cupful of quinoa or corn couscous (if pre-cooked add with okra, if raw, add with lentils and increase water by 2 cups) .
- Store refrigerated for up to three days.
- Can be frozen for up to 2 months in a sealed container (allow space for expansion).
I’m sharing this over at Angie’s Fiesta Friday and I hope you will join us over there! It’s a great place to see lots of foods you wouldn’t usually, find some great tips and meet some lovely people! This week the party is co-hosted by Antonia @ Zoale.com and Liz @ Spades, Spatulas & Spoons. Feel free to offer your time as a co-host… it’s great fun and the Fiesta needs you!
Here are a few items you might find useful when making this lovely soup!
If you purchase one of these items through clicking the above links, we will receive a small commission which goes towards the running of the site (it doesn’t cost you a penny more though). Thank you!
If you make this Okra & Lentil Soup, or a variation thereof, please share using #LifeDietHealth or tag us @LifeDietHealth We love to see your interpretations and inspirations from our suggestions! You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram and you can subscribe to follow this blog too!
Drop us a line below in the comments – we love to hear from you and we reply to everyone personally!
We hope you have a fabulous (long) weekend and a great week! Have fun!
Speak soon
Laurena x
Dear Laurena, thanks for your wonderful recipes (most of which, unfortunately, I haven’t had the time to try out yet! But I have set them aside for quieter days when I’ll be able to stay in the kitchen a bit longer!). This one looks so yummy I’m going to try it tomorrow…I’m so fond of soups and being the weather still on the cool side here too,
I just can’t wait to sit in front of a steaming bowl!
Have a great weekend too and hope to see you soon!
Thank you Anna! This is a truly delicious soup! Let me know how it turns out (and if hubby likes it too)! It was 1c (34f) this morning and today has been rain, wind, sun, rain, sun, rain etc. non stop! Hopefully you will get quieter times soon? Are you coming to stay in July? 😀 x
The soup turned out just great and it was what we really needed to warm up a bit…the heating is still on here as well and tomorrow the temperature will be 10 degrees lower! ?(Minimum 7 max 14) it has just started pouring down….ops, it’s a proper thunderstorm! I like stormy weather!
I used an aubergine instead of okra (couldn’t find it at my greengrocer’s) but next time I’m at the supermarket I’ll see if they have it…
My quiet time is going to start in June, so it’s one last month to go and yes, I’ll be so happy to see you all again in July, I just can’t wait ?
Excellent! Using aubergine sounds delicious – I think you would have liked the aubergine casserole we made too (wondering now if it can be eaten cold as a salad)! I love a good storm too, but we appear to just keep getting flash rains, no thunder, no lightening! Oh, but it has made so many weeds spring up at the allotment! Woohoo to July! 😀 x
I don’t think I’ve had okra since I was a kid lol. Funnily enough, I was thinking about getting some frozen when I found a vegan jollof recipe earlier. I’ve been cooking a lot of rice dishes recently, I’m grateful hubby isn’t fed up of pilafs with veggie sausages? Lots of asparagus here now. Still sunny and warm but will be a lot cloudier and rainy tomorrow (yay?).
I didn’t even know there was such as thing as okra when I was a child! lol 😛 Pilaf and veggie sausages sounds great – have you found a favourite brand there yet? Definitely get some okra… then make this soup! 😛 and the jollof! Oh yum to asparagus! Ooo, I just imagined a super recipe with asparagus! I need to find me some! Very cold here today and the weather so can’t make up its mind! Enjoy the rest of the weekend (sorry you miss the extra day!) x
What- you didn’t grow up eating slimy, seedy okra?? The way to eat asparagus over here is to cover it in white sauce which isn’t exactly healthy lol…I’m intrigued to know what your super recipe is for it? And the aubergine and dumplings…and the ‘naughty’ jam roly poly? I love the Alnatura brand for vegan sausages (it’s basically the German Wholefoods brand). I forgot to mention adzuki beans remind me of Gillian McKeith hehe. Hope you sorted out the gremlins lol and enjoy the rest of the bank holiday weekend x
Ah, apparently I haven’t fixed the gremlins totally! I am no longer receiving notifications when people leave messages (hence the delay)! No, definitely no okra for me… not until I met my friend from Zimbabwe who introduced me to it in about 2000 (oh my that was a LONG time ago)! lol! 😛 Ah, my super recipe, I’ll post it soon! Maybe I’ll post the others too (apparently the jam roly poly was great)! Great that you’ve found some yummy sausages – I don’t think we have those over here (yet!) Hope you had a great weekend and enjoyed the rest of your May Day! x
I heard an old song from the year 2000 the other day but I digress as usual lol. These vegan sausages are quite different to the usual Linda McCartney ones people tend to eat back home (which I’m not really a fan of, sorry Linda RIP)- they’re ok, I just personally find them too oily and rich. These Allnatura ones have a different texture (rubbery, maybe, but I like them lol). Off to buy some asparagus now (or Spargel!)- they’re very hot on seasonal produce here: if it’s that time of year for whatever it is, you see it everywhere, even little stalls pop up in retail parks lol. I noticed the strawberry season was April here when it’s always been June in the UK which I found a little odd. That’s enough of my ramblings for now. I hope you sort out the gremlins soon (never watched the movie, by the way?)
Oh my… Gremlins was the best (not Gremlins 2 tho)! I met Linda McCartney you know! 😛 She arrived by helicopter when I was doing my hotel management training -she was very lovely (Paul too)! Now who’s digressing! 😛 Our strawberries are far from ready, but in all this rain the plants are growing rapidly! (Thunderstorm atm)! Oops.. someone at the door…
Onions and leeks are perfect together. Your soup looks like a delicious bowl of comfort. Thank you for bringing your healthy and tasty soup to the party! Happy Fiesta Friday!
Thanks Antonia. Onions, leeks (and carrots) make a fantastic base for anything (sometimes I want to eat it just as it is)! This soup is certainly comforting and needed in our current cold spell (currently 7c / 45f) ! Thanks for co-hosting. Enjoy the Fiesta!
This looks wonderful! Reminds me of South Indian sambar – a similar lentil soup made with veggies, soured with tamarind. We eat it with steamed rice.
Thanks! That sounds yummy – I have some tamarind paste but never thought to put it in soup! I will try that thank you!
Good recipe!
Thanks Rita. I hope you’re well.
Anything with Cajun spice, I love. Or just anything food, haha! I could use a serving or two, Laurena… like now?? 😀 Thanks for sharing!
PS: We are co-hosting together FF#275, yes??
Thanks Jhuls! I’m not sure there’d be any left in the bowl by the time it got to you! 😛 Oh yes, Cajun seems to be our most popular spice atm! Have you tried roasting green beans slathered in Cajun – oh my!
Oh… are we? I’m a bit busy (& fasting) but I’m guessing I could squeeze it in 😀 Ok, yes! 😀 xxx
Yay!! My two favorite cohosts!! See you soon!!
???
I love okra, this soup sounds delightful!
Thank you. It is a great soup. What do you usually do with okra?