Near Instant Lentil and Franks Soup | Book of Elsa

i call it near instant because although it takes 1 hour to cook you are only needed for around 15 minutes.

in the photo i added some chorizo but there really is no need.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ¼ teaspoon ground mace
• 500 grams yellow or red split peas
• 1½ litres water
• 2 stock cubes chicken and/or vegetable 
• 2 bay leaves
• 8-10 frankfurters or similar

METHOD

Peel the onion and garlic and put them into the bowl of a food processor. Blitz till all are finely chopped.

Drizzle the oil into a heavy-based wide saucepan and put on medium heat.

When warm, add the chopped vegetables from the processor and cook for 5-10 minutes, until soft but not coloured.

Add the ground mace - this may be a small amount but it's crucial to the taste - give a good stir and then add the split peas and stir again till they're glossily mixed with the oil-slicked, cooked-down vegetables. Pour over 1.5 litres water and stock cubes and add the bay leaves, then bring to the boil. Cover, turn down the heat and cook for about an hour until everything is tender and sludgy, adding more water as needed. Taste for seasoning once everything's ready.

You can add the frankfurters as you wish. It's probably easiest just to cut them into slices - I tend to add them in chunks of about 3cm each - and throw them into the soup to warm. Serve with bread.