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Smoky red lentil, chicken and chorizo soup
Serves 4 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- For the basic stock
- 3tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 celery stalks, quartered lengthways and chopped
- 1 small red pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
- 2 large tomatoes, peeled, cored and quartered
- ¼tsp sweet smoked paprika
- 200g split red lentils, rinsed
- 1.5 litres chicken stock, or half chicken stock and half water
For the soup
- 350g mini chicken fillets
- 2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- pinch sweet smoked paprika, plus extra for dusting
- 10g fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 100g thin chorizo, skin pulled off and thinly sliced
- crème fraîche, to serve
Method
Heat the oil for the stock in a large pan. Add the onion, garlic, celery and red pepper. Sauté on a medium heat for 5 minutes until softened but not browned. Squeeze the seeds out of the tomatoes and cut in half again roughly, add to the pan with the paprika and stir for 1 minute. Add the lentils and chicken stock. Simmer for 25 minutes until the lentils are tender and everything has broken down. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7. Line an oven tray with foil and lay the mini chicken fillets on it. Spoon over 1tbsp of the oil and sprinkle with the pinch of paprika. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss to coat evenly then spread the fillets out in an even layer. Roast for 8 minutes. Turn them over and roast for another 10 minutes, then remove from the oven. When cool enough to handle, tear up all but 4 fillets and add to the pan of stock, setting aside the others for the top.
Heat the rest of the oil and briefly fry the parsley leaves a few at a time (beware – they spit) until they are crisp. Lift out with a slotted spoon onto a plate lined with kitchen paper. Fry the chorizo for 1 minute and place with the parsley. Add half the chorizo to the soup and use the rest for the top. Pour the red oil from the pan into a bowl and keep for serving.
To serve, add more hot stock or water to the soup if it needs it – as it cools the lentils will continue to swell. Ladle the soup into bowls. Place a chicken fillet on the top of each one, along with some chorizo, parsley leaves, a spoonful of crème fraîche and a drizzle of the red chorizo oil.
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