Hello Hive friends.
I know people that snub soup, but not me. Any time of the year and any type, is my go to comfort food.
It's seems to fit the scene outside. The pillowy snow flakes have been falling all day. I am not going outside today.
Fortunately the markdown bin, at a certain store, was exploding yesterday. Their produce is very expensive, not selling fast.
I always get my marked down tomatoes there. I bought many and blended them. Part of it was for the soup today. The rest is kept in the fridge for something else.
There are a few blemishes but for the most part they are perfect for cooking. They usually package several kinds together.
All I have left for a blender, is my bullet. It took a while to blend up all of the tomatoes. I could have done a few for this soup, but I wanted to get it all over with.
They were blended to an almost smooth consistency, then some of it packed away.
Instead of using spicy chilli pepper, I used a sweet pepper instead. This was not a particular culture inspired soup. It was inspired by what I could get and what I already had.
I was keeping the spiciness optional. There are bottles of hot sauce in my fridge.
The pepper was red. It was left over from what I had bought, at the same store last week.
When I bought the tomatoes, there were zucchini in the markdown bin along with the tomatoes. They were 2 dollars for 3 and didn't have any spots.
They were probably on the shelf for a while, but perfectly fine for a soup.
Carrots are always in my fridge. I use them mostly for soup. I remember eating them raw when I was growing up, but they don't come as sweet as they used to.
The celery and carrots were small diced. I didn't want them to steal the show.
Even though I was going to add vegetable broth later, I would still include onion. I need to build the flavours especially when it's plant based. We don't want a watery taste.
I also added a good amount of garlic. The cloves were finely minced.
Tomato lentil pasta shell soup
1 litre ground tomatoes
500g zucchini
200g bell pepper
65g carrot
30g celery
180g onion
70g garlic
1 cup dry brown lentils
1 1/2 cup dry shell pasta
1/8 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 litre vegetable broth
Salt to taste
The amounts that I list are based on my own taste and what I am looking to achieve, which may not be for everyone.
After the lentils were washed, I cooked them partially. They were not very soft but a little tender. They were drained then set aside to add to the soup.
Meanwhile I heated a pot lined with oil and started cooking the onions.
After the onions are fried , I add the celery, garlic, and carrots.
With reckless abandon, I threw in the zucchini,the rest of the vegetables, and seasonings. It's not easy, while doing this, with a camera in one hand.
The salt was added, keeping in mind that the broth which would be added, was already salted.
The pureed tomatoes were added until I had what I felt was enough. It was around 1 litre.
The lentils were added. It would cook to perfection in tomato stew.
These pasta shells were on sale for a dollar and a half. This was an unseen before price for this brand. I also rarely see these small cute shells. They are perfect for soup.
They don't take long to cook, so they're added at the last few minutes. The lid goes on, after a gentle stir. In a few minutes it's ready to be served.
It was already seasoned to our liking, however a few drops of habanero sauce was the perfect addition.
With some left over pita bread, I made some toasted croutons for the soup and the salad that was the perfect accompaniment.
Thank you for passing by.
Photos taken with a Nikon D7500