There's nothing like home-made soup for a weekend lunch in the depths of winter.

You may not be sure about eating lentils, but don't be put off by that. Lentils are very good for you and the combination of flavours makes this soup a very tasty one. Mainly consisting of vegetables, it's also cheap to make. Additionally, the soup is high in protein. If you want to lose weight, there's an argument that says eating healthy protein-rich foods might play a role in sensible weight-loss programmes. And, because it is so filling, you could easily have this soup as your main meal.

Unlike many other lentil and bacon soup recipes, there are no tomatoes here, making it a winner if you're one of those that thinks tomatoes are the 'devil's fruit'. Finally, it's a good recipe for using up vegetables that are a bit past their best. And because lentils keep for ages, you can always keep a bag or two in the kitchen just in case.

Serves 4-6

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

• Just over 1 litre (about 2 pints) of vegetable stock
• 200g (7 ounces) split red lentils (washed)
• 4 rashers of smoked back bacon (cut into pieces)
• 1 sweet potato (peeled and cut into small chunks)
• 2 carrots (peeled and sliced)
• 1 onion (chopped)
• 2 cloves of garlic (peeled and cut into small pieces using a knife, or crushed in a garlic press)
• Fresh rosemary (all the leaves from a twig about as long as your finger should be enough - chopped into small pieces)¹
• 3/4 teaspoon of cumin seeds (optional, but recommended!)

Method

1. If you intend to use fresh stock, you should make it first.

2. Heat some cooking oil or butter in a large pan and fry the onions on a medium heat.

3. After about 5 minutes, add the bacon pieces. Keep stirring them.

4. Wait until the bacon is nearly cooked then add the garlic.

5. If using pre-prepared stock, follow the instructions to get it ready for use. When the bacon, garlic and onions are cooked, add the stock and the lentils.

6. Add the sweet potato and the carrot slices.

7. Put the chopped rosemary into the soup. Set a timer for about 35 minutes, cover the soup pot with a lid and leave to simmer. Go and do something useful while you wait, but remember to check on the soup once or twice while it's simmering and add more boiling water if there doesn't seem to be enough liquid.

8. After the 35 minutes is up, test the vegetable chunks with a sharp knife. They should be soft. If they are, add the cumin seeds and mix well.

9. Using a hand blender, blend the soup until all the chunks are gone and the soup is the desired consistency. It will be quite thick, so you may need to add more water to taste.

Reheat the soup a little if you want to eat it immediately. If not, it will keep in the fridge for a few days and can also be frozen. That means if you have enough ingredients to make double, you can keep some in the freezer for when you can't be bothered to cook. Just make sure you follow the usual food hygiene rules for freezing and defrosting.

If you have a decent-sized portion, you'll likely find the soup will fill you up for a good while on its own, but, it's best to eat with freshly-baked bread.

Enjoy!