This is a really hearty soup suitable for the whole family. I made it as part of my liquid post-gastric-sleeve diet, but it would be equally suitable for anyone on a low-fat diet, or a reflux diet, or of course just someone who enjoys a wholesome nourishing soup!
Because I need to be on liquids with ‘no bits’, I blitzed it as finely as I could, then put it through a sieve, but under other circumstances, I’d either just blitz it but not sieve away all the fibre goodness from the bean and lentil hulls, or would take some of the beans and lentils out before blitzing, then add them back in, to give the soup more of a chunky feel, so it’s up to how you like your soup!
Ingredients (for 2 very generous portions for people not on my diet!)
- 2 handfuls dry cannellini beans (these may need soaking in cold water overnight before you cook them – check the pack for instructions)
- 2 handfuls dry yellow split peas (these may need soaking in cold water overnight before you cook them – check the pack for instructions)
- 1 handful dry green lentils (these may need soaking in cold water overnight before you cook them – check the pack for instructions)
- 1 handful dry red lentils (these may need soaking in cold water overnight before you cook them – check the pack for instructions)
- 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 1l chicken or vegetable stock (I used 2 Knorr Chicken Stock Pots and 1l water)
- 0.5l water
- half a teaspoon Ras El Hanout spice mix
- optional: low-fat cheese triangle (1 per portion) or a sprinkling of powdered milk or whey protein powder to add more protein into the soup (for post-bariatric surgery liquid diet supplementation)
- optional: sea salt, to taste
Method
Place all ingredients (aside from the salt) in a large saucepan or stockpot and bring to the boil. Boil on a high heat for 10 minutes.
Turn the heat down, cover, and simmer / boil gently for about an hour and 20 minutes, checking that the beans and lentils are soft and easily squashable (otherwise cook a little longer).
Liquidise in a jar blender or using a hand-held blender in the saucepan, then, if you’re using this for the post-bariatric surgery liquid diet, sieve to ensure there are no bits left. If you are not following this diet, and prefer a chunkier soup, you can either just liquidise it but not sieve it, or take out some beans and lentils before liquidising the soup, then add those back in, so it has a more chunky texture.
Taste and add a sprinkling of sea salt if you feel it needs it.
Note: If you are following a post-bariatric surgery liquid diet and need to supplement your liquid nutrition with protein, you can add a little powdered milk, whey protein powder, or a cheese triangle melted into the soup.
Serve and enjoy!