I’ve had a good lentil soup on my must make for a while and boy it’s a goodie. Packed with flavour and texture, this vegan Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup with Baked Tofu is the ultimate comforting soup as we head into Winter.
What makes this Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup stand out from the crowd?
Baking the sweet potatoes and tofu. By roasting the sweet potatoes and then blitzing half before adding to the lentils it gives this vegan lentil soup incredible flavour but also a wonderful thickness. Bakign the tofu till crispy also adds to that increible texture.
The Crispy garlic and chilli oil with sizzled parsley. DON’T SKIP this guys. It takes 2 minutes and i promise is THE BEST in terms of adding awesome flavour to this lentil soup. Sounds fancy but it’s literally frying up some sliced garlic and chilli. have you tried crisping up herbs before? OMG game changer topping for soups. Then drizzle over the oil from the pan and mix in. YUM!
OPTIONAL EXTRAS FOR NON VEGANS
If you’re not vegan then I recommend adding in some cooked chorizo or even crisped up oven baked parma ham or bacon. Really good.
I hope you guys enjoy this as much as we did.
Lentil and sweet potato Soup with baked tofu
INGREDIENTS
- 4 tbsp olive oil (or 2 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp butter / ghee if not vegan)
- 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 packet (396g) firm tofu (I like Cauldron Foods)
- 1 small onion, finely diced (60g)
- 3 cloves garlic, finely sliced
- 1/2 - 1 tsp harissa, to taste
- 1 tbsp ginger, grated
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric (I like Coconut Merchant)
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp ground coriander
- 1 cup no soak red lentils (200g)
- 3 cups vegetable (or chicken stock if not vegan)
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 3 stalks of curly kale, chopped
CRISPY GARLIC AND CHILLI OIL
- 1 tbsp coconut or avocado oil for frying (best not to use olive oil for frying as it's not heat resistant)
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 small red chilli, thinly sliced
- small handful of parsley, roughly chopped
To serve
- 4 tbsp coconut yoghurt (I like Coyo)
Method
SWEET POTATOES
- Preheat the oven to 200C / 180 fan.
- Add the sweet potatoes to a greaseproof lined baking tray. Toss with 1 tbsp of oli and a pinch of salt. Roast for 30 - 40 minutes until soft.
TOFU
- Squeeze the water from the tofu using a tofu press or between kitchen roll. Cut into 2cm cubes.
- Place on another greaseproof lined baking tray and toss with 1 tbsp of oil and a pinch of salt. (Option to use toasted sesame instead of olive oil if you prefer. It's super tasty!) Bake for 30 - 35 minutes until crisp, turning once.
LENTIL AND SWEET POTATO SOUP
- Add the remaining 2 tbsp of oil (or butter / ghee if not vegan) to a dutch oven or non stick pan. Heat on a medium and add the onion. Sweat for 2 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic, ginger and spices for a further 30 seconds.
- Add the lentils and stock, season with salt and pepper and cook for 13 - 15 minutes until the lentils are soft. Stir a few times.
- When the sweet potatoes are cooked, remove from the oven, place half in a jug and blitz with a hand blender or mash with a fork. Keep the other half as cubes. Stir the puree and the diced sweet potatoes through the lentils, along with the kale. Cook for 1 - 2 minutes until the kale softens slightly. Adjust the consistency to your liking by either thinning with a little more stock or cooking for a few more minutes to reduce the volume and concentrate.
CRISPY GARLIC AND CHILLI
- Heat 1 tsp of oil in a frying pan. Once hot add the garlic and chilli to one side of the pan and the herbs to the other. Cook until they both start to go crips. The herbs will be quicker (about 1 minute so remove those first) and the garlic and chilli about 1.5 - 2 minutes. Careful not to burn.
- Top the Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup with baked tofu, crispy garlic and chilli oil and sizzled parsley. Option to top with coconut yoghurt too. Don't forget to include the oil from frying the garlic and chilli. That's the best bit!
