Family Food - Mulligatawny Soup

Oh look, chaps! It's suddenly become Autumn! (You may - my American friends - alternatively wish to call the season "Fall". But this Blog is British, so I'm right, and you are definitely all shades of wrong.) My favourite season. It's so pretty! And chucking on an extra jumper is a great way to disguise the ole post (extremely post, in my case) baby "Michelin Man" body-shape. Who needs serial dirty-pillow groper, Gok Wan? And his plethora of intestine-confining under garments. I mean, "How to Look Good Naked" should reeeeally be called "How to Contort Yourself Into Uncomfortable Clothing and Hire a Photographer to Blur Out Your Wobbly Bits", c'est non? Oui Madame. Oui!

So basically, my lovely friends, after a positively tropical summer (I believe, in The Tropics), it's fridge-eezing yet again, but now the trees are a different colour. We're back to winter warmers!

Ingredients

• An onion, chopped
• Clove of garlic, crushed
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 medium carrot, chopped small
• 1 red pepper, chopped small
• Cube of frozen spinach, or a big handful of fresh washed spinach leaves
• 1/2 cup of lentils (washed)
• Tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 pint chicken stock (baby stock cubes for the young uns)

1. Soften onion and garlic in a little olive oil, in a deep saucepan.
2. Add spices - stir through and cook for a few minutes - don't let the onions burn!
3. Add carrot and red pepper - sauté for 5 minutes, low heat.
4. Add lentils, stock and tomatoes.
5. Bring to boil, then simmer for at least 30 minutes.
6. Add spinach - stir into soup, simmer 10 minutes.
7. If you like it, a couple of teaspoon of fresh, chopped coriander leaves can be added before serving.
8. Serve with a dollop of sour cream, natural yoghurt, or full fat soft cheese.

For younger babies, closer to 6 months, you may want to use less of the spices.
For the grown ups - a chopped chilli (seeds left in, you say? Are you mental? Yes I am!) adds even more warmth.

Check out The Bairn with two - YES, TWO! COUNT 'EM! - spoons. That's m'Boy. Also resulting in bi-wall mulligatawny pebble-dashing, unfortunately, but very proud nonetheless. Mad skills.

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