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Soup of this week: Vegetable-heavy lentil soup. It’s a warming, tasty soup to counter some of that luscious toffee.

I made this soup from memory, as I couldn’t find the recipe I had in mind. I don’t have a nutritional analysis, but I can promise nevertheless that it’s low cal and high fiber.

Lentil soup

• 1 cup brown lentils
• 3 cups water
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4 medium (7-inch) carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 large “boiling” potato (red skinned), cubed (larger pieces than carrots for even cooking)
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 (15-ounce) diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 bay leaf

1. Wash and sort lentils. (Really. In this batch, I missed a little stone but fortunately felt it in my mouth before I bit down on it. The little bit looked fiendishly like a lentil, so look closely.)
2. Place lentils and water in 3-quart pan. Bring to a boil, then simmer 30 minutes.
3. Add remaining ingredients, and simmer 20 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Makes 4 servings.

Notes: You can easily double the recipe. One pound lentils is about 2 cups. An alternative method is to saute onions, carrots and celery in 2–4 tablespoons olive oil as a first step and then add the lentils and water. Vary herbs and seasonings according to taste. Optional additions include chopped parsley, spinach, green beans.