Lentil and Vegetable Soup - Meat Free Monday

Ingredients

• heavy ‘Le Creuset’-style casserole pot (don’t eat this!)
• butter or plant-based butter
• olive oil
• 1-2 carrots, chopped into 2 cm chunks
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 2-3 sprigs rosemary (strip off leaves and discard stalks)
• 2-3 celery sticks, chopped into 1cm slices
• 1 leek (optional), finely sliced
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• about half a thumb’s length fresh ginger (optional), finely diced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 1-2 courgette/zucchini, chopped into 2 cm chunks
• other green vegetables such as French beans or asparagus
• 2-4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 200-400 g red lentils
• spinach (optional)
• yoghurt or crème fraîche or soya yoghurt (optional)