Red lentil hummus

Can there ever be enough different hummus variations? I think not. I've tried plenty of different ones, but not a red lentil one, until I recently had some with a meal out. I became very curious wanting to make some myself. In this recipe I basically just substituted the chick peas in my basic homemade hummus with red lentils and it became a really nice dip. I'm sure I will perfect the recipe more with the time, if I'll feel like it.

Ingredients

1 cup red lentils

2 garlic cloves

½ lemon's juice

1 tsp salt

Sprinkle of smoked paprika

2 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp tahini

Method

Cook the lentils until they are soft, drain and cool them down.

Purée all ingredients into an even paste.

Serve the hummus with some vegetables, flatbreads, crispbreads, sandwiches etc.

Your VegHog

Carrot-cauliflower-lentil soup

I've been meaning to make a carrot and cauliflower soup for a while now, all last winter basically, but only just managed to make one on my holiday in Finland. My mum was at work and I wanted to make a light yet nutritious dinner for all of us once she would be back, so I decided to make a soup. I used carrots, cauliflower and red lentils as main ingredients in this and it turned out to be quite comforting. The addition of cottage cheese for serving was also a nice one. I love the firm and grainy Finnish style cottage cheese, very different to the more moist British style. Here is the simple recipe.

Ingredients

5 carrots

1 small cauliflower

1 large onion

1 cloveless garlic

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1,5 l water

1 vegetable stock cube

1 cup red lentils

Salt to taste

Ground black pepper to taste

Cottage cheese for serving (optional)

Method

Chop the carrot and cauliflower into pieces and the onion and garlic finely.

Start cooking them in oil until they are slightly glazed.

Add the water, vegetable stock cube and the red lentils and let simmer until the components are soft.

Season and purée.

Enjoy!

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