0 Spicy sweet potato, lentil and chipotle soup

Its starting to feel a little autumnal here in Lancashire so my thoughts as usual move from salads to soups, I love homemade soup and often knock up a soup for a weekend lunch using seasonal vegetables or something from the garden, luckily for us we were recently given a number of products from Some Like it Hot to try, so I thought the addition of chipotle sauce to a sweet potato soup would make an interesting addition.

This Chipotle sauce is made from Ancho chili for depth of flavour and Guajilla for the intense red colour they bring to the sauce and of course chipotle for the smoky notes. Its a delicious addition to the store cupboard and can be used in place of normal ketchup or as addition to many dishes, as well as this soup we have also tried it in a slow cooker BBQ ribs recipe, which frankly were amazing. In fact so much so that photography was planned for a post but they disappeared so quickly, we didn't take any of the shots !

What you need

• 3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 large onion - peeled and finely sliced
• 2 handfuls red lentils
• Vegetable stock - I always use Essential Cuisine
• 1 tbsp or more (if you like it more spicy) Some Like it Hot Chipotle Sauce
• Additional water if required to thin soup to desired consistency
• A little rapeseed oil or butter
• Yogurt to serve

What you do

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan
• Add the onion and sweet potatoes to the pan and cook over a low heat until the onion is starting to soften slightly.
• Add the lentils to the pan, along with enough vegetable stock to cover the vegetables and simmer until the vegetable are softened and the lentils cooked.
• Add the chipotle sauce and blend with a stick blender until smooth, taste and season to taste
• Serve hot, swirled with yogurt and sprinkled with a little fresh coriander

Some like it hot is a sister brand to Fatjax chutneys, so you can purchase their sauces and rubs range were every you can pick up the Fatjax range, which is many quality outlets across the north west, plus at various farmers markets.

We are linking up to No Croutons required hosted alternatively by Tinned Tomatoes and Herbs and Spice, a vegetaerian blooging challenge for Soups and Salads.

And also My Legume Love affair (MLLA) over at Ammaji Kitchen

                           

Detail: Spicy sweet potato, lentil and chipotle soup

0 Parsnip, lentil and bacon soup

I've been clearing out the fridge after the festive period and came across a bag of parsnips that needed using up, Christmas is like that we all buy too much stuff and then end up chucking it out, however we try not to let that happen at Lancashire Food. So here is a comforting warming recipe that is falling of a log simple yet produces great results from some fairly humble ingredients. The recipe would also work well with ham instead of bacon or if you are cooking for vegetarian eaters omitted entirely. 

Ingredients

• 500g bag of parsnips, topped and tailed, peeled and chunky chopped
• 1 large white onion, peeled and chopped fairly finely
• 1 cup of red lentils
• Vegetable stock
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1 small pack of Pancetta / or a couple of rashers of bacon chopped up into small pieces
• Small knob of butter

Method

• Start by melting the butter in a large saucepan, once melted add your bacon and cook until golden, remove from pan
• Now add the chopped onion and parsnips and cooks for a few minutes without colouring, now add the red lentils to the pan and add enough vegetable to cover.
• Bring to the simmer and cook until the lentils have disintergrated and the parsnip is soft, watch the quantity of liquid you may need to add more water.
• Once cooked allow to cool slighty, then blend with a stick blender until you reach you desired consistency, add more water if you want a thinner soup.
• Add the bacon back to the pan and reheat gently
• Serve with crusty bread

Detail: Parsnip, lentil and bacon soup