Sweet Potato, Red Lentil and Coconut Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 thumb-sized piece ginger, grated
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• ¼ tsp chilli flakes
• 600 g sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 150 g red lentils, picked over and rinsed
• 1 l water
• 400 ml can coconut milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 small bunch coriander leaves, to serve

Method

1. Heat the coconut oil in a large pot and cook the onion for 6–8 minutes until soft. Add the garlic, ginger, cumin, ground coriander, turmeric and chilli flakes and stir for 1 minute.
2. Add the sweet potato, lentils, water and salt. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 20–25 minutes, until the lentils have collapsed and the sweet potato is soft.
3. Stir in the coconut milk and blend until smooth (or leave it chunky). Heat through without boiling.
4. Add the lime juice, taste for salt and serve topped with coriander leaves.

Gluten-free check: Pick over the lentils before rinsing – dried lentils can contain stray grains of wheat or barley from the field; lentils labelled gluten-free are safest. Use single ground spices labelled gluten-free (some cheap ground spices are bulked out with flour). No stock cube is needed; if you add one it must be certified gluten-free.