Lentil, Leek and Chorizo Soup

This one is for Nikki, who asked for more recipes

Soup, soup, I love soup.  And it's a good thing too, because every Sunday night I make a big batch, put it in a tupperware jug and take it to work for my lunch every day for the whole week.  I started off following recipes, then started to make my own up.  My mum taught me that you can make soup out of pretty much any combination of vegetables as long as you have an onion, and that if you don't have an onion a leek will do.  So, one Sunday night - after I'd made my Cod in Tomato and Chorizo Sauce in fact - I made this soup out of what I had to hand.  And it was absolutely delicious. 

I'm behind on my soup-making this week, but this is a good thing as it's a particularly good night to be making soup.  It's grey, drizzly and about 10 degrees colder than it was yesterday and I've just cycled home in it.  However, my soup's now simmering away and I'm now freshly showered and snuggled up in my pyjamas, dressing gown and fluffy socks all ready for a bowlful.  This is how I made it.

I took two large leeks, one large carrot and two thick slices of chorizo.  I chopped everything up, which I always find very satisfying, then fried the chorizo in olive oil for a couple of minutes in my trusty soup-making pot.  Normally I use butter when I'm making soup as it makes an enormous difference to the taste, but butter and chorizo together is a bit too much of a good thing. 

I fried the chorizo on quite a high heat, then turned it down before I added the leeks and carrots.  I gave everything a good stir, put the lid on, and let everything sweat down for a few minutes (but not many, I wanted my soup before too long!). 

Then I added the lentils - red ones.  I use 100g to one pint of liquid, but you can use more or less depending on how you like your soup.  I like it THICK!  I used 300g as I wanted a big batch (about six portions). 

Then I chucked a pint of chicken stock and two pints of water in, and brought the whole lot to the boil for a minute or two, another good stir, then turned the heat down so it was simmering.  After about 45 minutes it should be ready to be liquidised (of which more later...) and enjoyed. 

A note on stock - I have been experimenting with cheap stock cubes to see if they're as good as Oxo ones.  They're not.  They're too salty which is why I only used one to three pints of water.  If I was using Oxo ones I'd probably use two.  And I never season my soup before it's finished, in case it's too salty from the stock cubes.  You can add it, but can't take it away...that's a tip picked up from Her Royal Highness Delia Smith by the way.