Spicy tomato lentil soup

Foodie excerpt - Chapter 13. A sturdy plan is a friend of the wise.

“Took you long enough,” Kai said as Brin and Elis joined her and Aine in the Comet’s kitchen.

Brin gave a glare in Elis’ direction and went to sit down at the table next to Aine while Elis opened a canister to reveal a tomato and chickpea soup, the deliciously enticing smell of it filling the air. Kai got the bowls and spoons and the soup was quickly served. Everyone eagerly dug in, the effects of the long day seemingly catching up to each of them. The thick feel of the sweet potatoes and legumes, the strong taste of the herbs and the appetising blend of different spices did a fabulous job of lowering Brin’s built up discontent. Elis had been even more unreasonable than usual, having made them wander to three different vendors before deeming the options acceptable and settling on the soup. Now that he was savouring the find, he almost felt like he should apologise to Elis for giving him a hard time. Almost. It was likely that a lot of the previous options they had seen would have been just as satisfying.

“Right, should we get started?” Brin asked after a few mouthfuls, eager to finalise the plan.

Nods from around the table gave him the go ahead. He started by explaining the larger operation that was divided into a ground assault led by another team and a hit on the main ship, which they were in charge of. Their job consisted of making it to the ship unnoticed, placing bombs, getting out unnoticed, and detonating the placed bombs.

“The real trick will be getting the timing right. The other team will be giving us a head start, but we won’t have long and once the ground attack gets going the whole ship will be on alert,” Brin explained.

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Spicy tomato lentil soup

Serves 4

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour

Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Note: If using uncooked chickpeas, soak the chickpeas overnight and plan 45 minutes - 1 hour to cook. See Green hummus recipe for cooking instructions.

Ingredients

• 300 g sweet potato

• 2 celery branches

• 1 onion

• 20 g coriander

• 20 g parsley

• 120 g green lentils

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 400 g canned tomatoes

• 30 g tomato paste

• 1 cube of vegetable stock

• 1 tsp turmeric

• 2 tsp cumin

• 2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 black pepper

• 2 bay leaves

• 240 g cooked chickpeas

• 1/2 lemon

Instructions

Peel the sweet potato and cut it into cubes. Chop the celery branches, including the leaves, into small pieces. Dice the onion and chop the coriander and parsley. Rinse the lentils. Set each aside separately.

Add the oil to a large pot on medium heat. Cook the onion for a few minutes until it starts to become translucent and add the chopped herbs and celery, stirring well for another couple of minutes. Add the sweet potato, lentils, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, vegetable stock and spices, stirring everything together well.

Add the bay leaves and 1 litre of water and raise the heat to bring to a boil. Lower the heat back to medium and cover the pot. Let simmer for 45 minutes, or until the lentils and sweet potato are tender.

Once ready, add the cooked chickpeas and lemon juice. Simmer for another few minutes.