Country Soup

Purple Becca's Note:

My 8 year old loves this soup! I started with a recipe from an old 80's dairy cookbook, but it has change a bit over the years. Sometimes I add swede, leave out the pepper or add pearl barley instead of lentils. But the origanal is still the best, not a low fat recipe this one - but very nutritious for kids.

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• ½ tablespoon oil or ½ tablespoon butter
• 1 onion
• 1 carrot
• ½ green pepper
• 1 medium potato
• 2 ounces red lentils
• black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 ½ ounces flour
• ¾ pint whole milk or ¾ pint skim milk
• ¾ pint vegetable stock
• 4 ounces cheese
• crouton

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a pan and sweat the chopped vegetables for 10 minutes. ( I used to chop all the vegetables together in the food processor, so my daughter couldn't identify them too well!).
2. Stir in the lentils and stock, along with the bay leaf, simmer for a further 1/2 hour.
3. Mix the flour and a little of the milk to a paste and add to the pan, stir in the rest of the milk. Simmer for 5 minutes to thicken a little.
4. Pour the soup into warm bowls and serve with a dish of cheese to sprinkle over and croutons.