Welcome autumn in Dubai with a warm bowl of green lentil soup

Method for lentil soup

1. Rinse green lentils and keep it aside. 

2. Wash the onions, carrots and celery and use a brunoise style cut to dice them into uniform cubes.

Note: A brunoise style is the smallest dice cut and anything smaller than this cut will be considered a mince.

3. Add olive oil to a heated casserole.

4. Place the rinsed lentils into the casserole, add vegetable stock and bring to a boil.

5. Once the lentils start boiling, add diced vegetables and season to taste with salt and pepper.

6. Bring to medium heat. Cover the casserole, and let the soup simmer for 30 minutes, or until lentils are soft. Adjust the taste with salt and pepper, if necessary.

7. Before serving, add two tablespoons of homemade tomato sauce to each bowl.

Method for homemade tomato sauce

1. Chop and sauté onions and garlic in a pot.

2. Add puréed tomatoes, mix well, close the lid and let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Add thyme, rosemary and sugar. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Cook on low heat for an additional 25 minutes, or until tomatoes are soft and the sauce thickens a bit.

Notes:

• You can prepare your own homemade vegetable broth with fresh celery, carrots and onions. Alternatively, you can use 3 tablespoons of vegetable stock powder.

• The tomato sauce can be prepared ahead of time. You can keep it in the fridge for upto 2 days in an airtight container.

• To get the right flavour, it is best to use only fresh herbs.