Hairy Bikers red lentil and harissa soup comes from Eat to Beat Type 2 Diabetes. It uses 200g of red lentils, a tin of tomatoes and one to two tablespoons of harissa paste, so the heat is your choice. Six bowls take about 35 minutes at 166 calories each.
They write in the book that it is quick to prepare and packs a punch, warming the cockles on a cold day. The seasoning they single out is not the harissa at all, but the lemon, garlic and coriander that go on at the end.
One bunch of coriander does two separate jobs here. The stems go into the pan early and the leaves are held back for the dressing, so nothing gets thrown away and nothing gets wasted on the wrong step.
Hairy Bikers Red Lentil and Harissa Soup
Description
Lemon zest, garlic and coriander are chopped together into a gremolata and spooned over each bowl. Underneath sits a simple pot of red lentils, tomatoes and harissa, ready in half an hour. This Hairy Bikers red lentil and harissa soup serves six.
Ingredients
For the soup
For the gremolata
Instructions
- Soften the onion: Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and cook gently until softened.
- Add the aromatics: Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute, then add the coriander stems and the harissa paste.
- Coat the lentils: Tip in the lentils and stir until they are coated in the paste, then pour over the stock and season with pepper.
- Simmer: Bring to the boil, turn the heat down and simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes: Stir in the tomatoes and simmer for another 10 minutes. Check the consistency and add a splash of water if it seems too thick.
- Make the gremolata: Chop the lemon zest, garlic and coriander leaves together until well combined.
- Serve: Taste and add more pepper and a squeeze of lemon if it needs it. Blend for a smooth soup or leave it as it is, then spoon the gremolata over the top.
FAQs
How much harissa should I use?
Start with one tablespoon. The recipe gives a range of one to two and leaves the choice to you, and more can always go in later.
Brands vary a lot in heat, so a spoonful of one is not a spoonful of another. Taste after the first ten minutes of simmering, once the paste has opened up in the pan, rather than judging it straight from the jar. Their chicken shawarma builds heat the same way, layering cumin, coriander and cayenne rather than relying on one thing.
What is the gremolata for?
It goes on last and it is raw, so it tastes nothing like the soup underneath. Lemon zest, garlic and coriander leaves chopped together give you sharpness against something that has been simmering for twenty minutes.
The book calls it a herby dressing while their website calls it a gremolata. Either way, do not stir it in. Spoon it onto each bowl at the table so it stays bright.
Why chop the coriander stems separately?
Because stems and leaves behave differently. Stems are firmer and hold their flavour through cooking, so two tablespoons go in early with the harissa and garlic.
Leaves would turn grey and lose everything in the same twenty minutes, which is why they wait. Their carrot and coriander soup uses the identical trick, 50g of fresh coriander with the stems chopped in and the leaves kept back.
Do I have to blend it?
No, and the book is relaxed about it. The lentils break down on their own and thicken the soup, though the onions and tomatoes leave texture behind.
Blend for smooth, leave it for chunky. Red lentils always collapse like this, which is why their lentil and bacon soup uses the same 200g to thicken a pot without any flour.
Is it really only 166 calories?
Yes, and nothing is hidden. One tablespoon of oil across six servings, no cream, no butter, no meat.
The lentils do the filling, since 200g carries the protein and fibre. For something a bit fancier the book suggests ribbons of courgette and extra lemon zest on top, which costs almost nothing. Their big soup works to the same brief at 157, using chorizo as seasoning rather than as meat.
