Recipe: Spicy carrot and lentil soup: Thermomix and frugal

Another soup.  You see, I have friends over for a lunch tomorrow and I also want all my lunches this week to be made and ready.  It's going to be a very busy week!

For such simple ingredients, this turned out very flavoursome, smooth and warming.  Definitely frugal. at between 25p and 30p per serving (a bit vague because I used cupboard ingredients mostly)  With a good chunk of bread (home made!), that's a filling lunch for under 50p.

Ingredients
an onion, peeled and cut into chunks
some celery, not too much, cut into chunks
about 600g carrot, topped, tailed, washed and chunked
a good half tsp or so of cumin
butter
about 100-ish g red lentils
2 tbsp marigold low sodium vegetable bouillon
a squeeze of garlic puree
boiling water

Method
Put the onion, celery and carrot into the Thermomix bowl and chop for about 10 second on speed 6
Add a lump of butter and the cumin and briefly zizz again to distribute it

Cook on 90, speed 2 for about 7 minutes

Add the lentils, the bouillon powder, the garlic puree and enough boiling water to just below the full mark

Cook on Varoma, speed 2/3, about 16 mins.  You can always give it a little longer if necessary.

Allow to cool for a while, then zizz at speed 8 for 2 mins.  If it is a little too thick, add more water or some milk.

Reheat to piping hot and serve with whatever you fancy really.

It makes about seven good servings (assuming two ladels-full per serving)  It doesn;t have salt or pepper except what is in the bouillon, but it can be added at the end, if needed.

The usual method:
Chop the vegetables finely
Saute them in a large pan in the butter with the cumin.
Add the lentils, bouillon, garlic puree and about 1 litre of boiling water, maybe more.
Simmer until cooked and zizz until smooth.  Check seasonings and adjust, if necessary