Ingredients
2 cups (480ml) vegetable broth (stock)
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
½ tsp. salt
⅛ tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 tsp. dried basil
Roasted Vegetables:
4 red bell peppers
2 lbs. (900g) vine ripened tomatoes
1 yellow onion
4 peeled garlic cloves
2 tsp. avocado oil
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
pinch of salt & pepper
Soup:
½ cup (100g) dried red split lentils
1 ½ cups (360ml) water
2 Side salad for servings:
2 cups (40g) arugula (rocket)
3 radishes sliced
1 tbsp. salad dressing of choice
Optional toppings for soup:
½ cup (20g) homemade or store bought croutons
drizzle of olive oil
roasted peppers and onions (kept back from making soup)
Directions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Cut the tomatoes into quarters if small and eights if large. Cut the red bell peppers into similar sized pieces as the tomatoes, repeat this step with the onion.
Step 2
Place the tomatoes, onion, red peppers, and garlic cloves onto two lined baking sheets. Toss them with equal amounts of the Italian seasoning, avocado oil, salt and pepper. Place both trays into the oven and bake for 18 minutes.
Step 3
While the vegetables are roasting in the oven, pour the lentils and water into a medium sized saucepan. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, covered with a lid and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
Step 4
Once the vegetables have roasted, remove from the oven and place into a large blender (save a few whole pieces of roasted vegetables for garnishing the soup later). Now add in the vegetable broth and cooked lentils and blend until smooth.
Step 5
Pour the blended soup into a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Add in the Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and dried basil. Let the soup simmer for 5 minutes. Pour the soup into bowls and top with optional toppings. Serve with the arugula side salad.
