Curried Chicken and Lentil Soup Recipe

Ingredients : Serves 4

For the soup:
15 ml/1 tbsp sunflower oil

1 onion, chopped
10 ml/2 tsp curry powder

15 ml/1 tbsp dry sherry
1.2 liters/2 pts/5 cups Chicken Stock
4 carrots, cut into sticks
225 g/8 oz/2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
100 g/4 oz lentils
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the croutons:
120 ml/4 fl oz/0.5 cup sunflower oil
4 slices of wholemeal bread, cut into 1 cm/0.5 in cubes

Method :

To make the soup, heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry (saute) the onion until soft but not brown. Stir in the curry powder and fry gently for 1 minute. Stir in the sherry, then add the stock, carrots, chicken and lentils. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes until the carrots and lentils are tender. Season to taste.
To make the croutons, heat the oil and fry the bread until crisp, then drain on kitchen paper (paper towels) and serve with the soup.