Starters/sides

Ingredients:  
400 g vine-ripened tomatoes, halved  
2 cloves of garlic, unpeeled  
1 red onion, peeled and cut into wedges  
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve  
300 g King Edward potatoes, peeled and diced  
1 litre vegetable stock  
1 part-cooked baguette,
to serve   6 fresh basil leaves, washed roughly torn, plus extra to garnish   

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Place the halved tomatoes, garlic and red onion in a roasting tray and season with freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle with the olive oil and roast for 30 minutes. 
2. Transfer the roasted tomatoes, onions and garlic to a pan, along with the diced potatoes and the vegetable stock. Bring to the boil, the squeeze the garlic cloves out of the skins and add to the pan with the torn basil leaves. Simmer for 12-15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. 
3. Meanwhile, 8-10 minutes before the end of the soup cooking time, place the part-cooked baguette on a tray and bake in the oven 8-10 minutes. 
4. Blend the soup to a smooth consistency using a hand blender. 

Ladle into 4 bowls and garnished with the extra torn basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil. 

Serve with slices of warm baguette. 

Absolutely essential ingredients

• 400g red lentils

• 2 tsps turmeric

• 2 knobs unsalted butter

• 2 tsps cumin seeds

• 1 small onion, finely chopped

• 2-3 cloves garlic, finely sliced

• 1-2 fresh green chillies, finely sliced (remove seeds if you want to keep the heat down)

Optional (recommended) extras

• 1 tsp garam masala

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, finely grated

• 2-3 tomatoes, chopped small

Method:
Place the lentils in a pan and cover with enough cold water to come to around two inches above their surface. Bring to the boil (skim off any scum that rises to the top), and reduce to a simmer.

Stir in the turmeric and a generous knob of butter. Cover and leave to cook gently.

In a small frying pan, dry-fry the cumin seeds over a medium heat until toasted and fragrant (no more than a couple of minutes). Remove from the pan and set to one side.

Melt a second knob of butter in the same frying pan and gently fry the chopped garlic, onion, chillies and the grated ginger and tomatoes, if you’re using them. Once the garlic is golden, mix in the toasted cumin seeds and, if using, the garam masala and ground coriander. Remove from the heat until the lentils are completely softened.

Give the lentils a good stir. They should have the consistency of porridge – thicker than soup and looser than houmous. Add more water as necessary (you will be surprised how thick they can get over just a couple of extra minutes cooking), and mix in your aromatic fried mixture.

Season to taste, then serve on its own, topped with coriander, or with a side of basmati rice and greens.

So simple, so quick, so good