Curried Lentil and Cauliflower Soup

It's not yet past soup season and given the days here on the wet coast plague us with the "Damp" something warming is a welcome relief. It doesn't need to be fancy or French to sooth the hunched back surly symptoms of the Damp, just a solid stew/soup that'll fire up the burn from the inside out. 

Get some:

The soup horizon  - there's no going back

• 1.5 cups red lentils
• 1 onion
• 1/2 inch of ginger
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 TBSP curry powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander 
• 2 carrots
• 1 small head of cauliflower
• 2 cups low sodium veggie broth
• 3 bay leaves 
• use all the soaking water from lentils
• 2 thai chilli's or 1 tsp chilli flakes

Topping: 

• Fresh herbs cilantro, parsley, fennel or chives
• Sour cream or yogurt
• Lime juice
• sprinkle of salt

Rinse the lentils multiple times in cool water to remove the outside starches place in the cooking pot & cover with boiling water by at least 2 inches. Allow to stand for at least 15 mins to soak. Meanwhile sweat the onions with a sprinkle of salt. Add the garlic and ginger briefly sweat. Push veggies to the side and dry fry the coriander, cumin & curry powder. Add the stock, & lentils with all the soaking water.

Bring the soup to a boil and then turn down to a simmer, add carrots and clamp the lid on and cook for 10 mins. Feel free to add more stock or water to loosen the soup up of it's getting too thick. After the 10 min has elapsed add the cauliflower and cook for another 10 mins. Stir often to stop the lentils from sticking to the bottom. Lastly add a chopped chilli pepper & stir well, cook for another 5 mins. 

Add the fresh toppings, these brighten the flavour and add dimension to the soup
try:  chopped fresh, cilantro, parsley, fennel or chives and a spoon of sour cream or yogurt.

Like all good soups this get better when it takes a little fridge nap over night. Excellent for freezing and nomnomnoming at a later date when your world is inside out and upside down and eating is just a matter of getting through the next 8 hrs.

Beer Pairing: A Belgian style triple works great here. L'Herbe à Détourne matches well with its sweet creamy malts and dry bitter hops that compliment each other perfectly. The sweetness of the triple is present and the addition of bitter hops accentuate the creaminess of the soup perfectly.