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Spicy Red Lentil Soup in a white bowl
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5 from 1 vote

Stretch a Chicken (7) Spicy Lentil Soup

Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Dinner, Household, Lunch, Main Course
Servings: 4
Calories: 374kcal
Author: Thrifty Lesley
Cost: 26p

Equipment

  • large mixing spoon
  • pan to fry in
  • small sharp knife
  • chopping board
  • stick blender
  • saucepan

Ingredients

Spicy Lentil Soup

  • 1 onion 49p/kg, 150g 7p
  • 350 g red lentils 99p/500g, 70p
  • ½ litre chicken stock use home made, or a chicken stock cube 4p
  • ½ litre water
  • 1 carrots 1.5kg/49p, 150g, 5p
  • 1 stick celery 43p/head, avg 12 sticks, 4p
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp turmeric 49p/40g, 5g. 6p
  • 1 fat clove garlic 4/79p, 2p
  • 10 g finely grated ginger 69p/125g, 6p
  • 1 red chilli finely chopped 51p/65g, 5p

Instructions

Spicy Red Lentil Soup

  • Sauté chopped onion, carrot and celery until the onion is transparent. You could even leave this step out if you like and just tip all the ingredients into a saucepan and go straight to simmering it. 
    1 onion, 1 carrots, 1 stick celery
  • Add the red lentils, salt, turmeric, garlic and ginger and chopped chilli
    350 g red lentils, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 fat clove garlic, 1 red chilli
  • Add half a litre of chicken stock and half a litre of water. Or use all water and a stock cube
    ½ litre chicken stock, ½ litre water
  • Simmer gently for 20 minutes
    Click to start a 20 minute timer
  • Whizz if you want to, I usually do.

Notes

What changes can I make to this high protein lentil soup

  • change the spices, use a spoon of any curry paste for instance
  • leave out the spices all together
  • use green or brown lentils instead of red lentils. Or use a tin of chick peas
  • add a splash of cream to make your soup creamy
  • add more, or less, chilli, according to your taste
  • use stock made from boiling a gammon joint for a completely different flavour
  • add shreds of chicken, ham, pork or prawns

The other recipes in the how to stretch a chicken series

  1. Roast chicken, 400g chicken, gravy, with stuffing, 4 portions
  2. Risotto, 140g chicken, onion, half the the stock, some vegetables butter and parmesan, 4 portions
  3. Pizza, 117g chicken, tomato sauce, maybe some stuffing, 4 portions
  4. Spicy Pasta Bake, white sauce, 120g chicken, onion, spices, stuffing, 4 portions
  5. Tart, 100g chicken, onions, sweetcorn, couple of eggs, no cheese, stuffing, 4 portions
  6. Pie, 100g chicken, some of the gravy, onion, maybe some sweetcorn or mushrooms, maybe some stuffing, 4 portions
  7. Soup with the remaining half of the stock, red lentils, onion, spices, 4 portions, this recipe
this comes out at a total of 28 portions, which I think is pretty good!

There is also a series starting with a poached chicken 

  1. Poached chicken
  2. Spaghetti with olives, sultanas and lemon 140g chicken
  3. Oaty, nutty, seedy chicken and mushroom crumble 140g chicken
  4. Chicken and rice salad – red peppers from a jar, peas, gherkins, raisins 140g chicken and some of the stock
  5. Chicken and something Pizza, sweetcorn, onion, red pepper, mozzarella and cheddar  140g chicken
  6. Coronation Chicken Jacket Potato – 140g chicken
  7. Red Cabbage Waldorf with apple, walnut and dressing –  140g chicken
  8. Chicken Tart with Butternut Squash, Lemon Zest & Parmesan 140g chicken
this comes out at a total of 28 portions, which is amazing!
This means that 1 medium chicken can be used to make 7 different budget stretching chicken recipes and feed your family for a week – bargaintastic!

Nutrition

Calories: 374kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 795mg | Potassium: 1073mg | Fiber: 28g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 2591IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 7mg
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