Red Lentil Rutabaga Soup

Red lentils  are an easy to digest legume providing you with a good ratio between carbohydrates and protein. Rutabaga is a root vegetable not seen so often on menus. Yet it gives us a decent amount of fibre, Vitamin C, calcium, potassium and smaller amounts of immune boosting selenium. This earthy and grounding recipe just does the trick on colder days to come!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of harissa
3 small onions
1 clove of garlic
1 large rutabaga (peeled, washed and chopped in small pieces)
200 gram red lentils
500 ml of water
1 tablespoon of umeboshi plum paste
1 teaspoon of grey sea salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
handful of chives

Instructions:

Chop the onions in small pieces and press the garlic. In a iron cast sauce pan or large souppan heat up the olive oil and add onions and harissa spice. On medium heat cook harissa onion mixture until onions are translucent. Add garlic and water and bring to a boil.

Turn heat low and add rutabaga and red lentils. Cover with a lid and cook for 30 minutes. Once rutabaga and lentils are soft, add the rest of the ingredients, except the chives. Blend soup until smooth and top with chives.