Low FODMAP Lentil and vegetable soup

A delicious soup to keep that belly happy! Great for freezing into batches for lunch or dinner or a hot snack. 

Servings

8

Ready In:

1-24hrs 

Good For:

Lunch

Dinner

Health Stuff:

Fibre

Protein

A lo-fo freezer staple

Keep your belly happy with canned lentils!

Extremely flexible recipe, a little choose-your-own-adventure where you can’t really go too wrong since the broth is the rockstar here. 

 

Ingredients

STOCK INGREDIENTS

  • 1-3 roast chicken carcasses
  • 1-2 litres cold water to cover bones
  • 1 kg (about 8) medium carrots, cut into chunks
  • A pressure cooker or large stock pot

 SOUP INGREDIENTS

  • 1-2 litres of chicken stock
  • 2 litres of water
  • 6 anchovies, finely chopped
  • 1 fennel bulb, cored and diced
  • 3 medium carrots, diced
  • 1 head of broccoli, cut into very small florets
  • Two generous handfuls of green beans cut into halves or thirds
  • 1 medium zucchini, chopped
  • 2 cans lentils, drained and well-rinsed (run clear)
  • 2 medium potatoes, diced
  • Shredded meat from roast chicken, if leftover
  • 1 large red chilli or two small bird’s eye chillies (to taste)
  • 1 tbsp garlic-infused olive oil
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Fresh parsley, chopped, to serve
  • Fresh lemon wedge, to serve
  • Low-FODMAP buttered bread, to serve

This recipe is in two sections: first the chicken stock then the soup. 

  • Pressure cooker (fast) or stovetop (slower)
  • Split tasks into two and do on separate days if you need, since the chicken stock can be refrigerated or frozen

Raw or roasted carcasses?

You can buy very cheap raw chicken carcasses from your local butcher and then roast them in the oven. If you are a fan of roast chicken, save your carcass, including chewed-on bones in the freezer until you have 2-3 saved up for this stock. Roast chicken carcasses are MUCH better. 

The raw carcasses are tastier if you first roast them at 200C for 40-60 minutes. Roast the carrots at the same time, lying underneath the carcasses.

If you are using organic carrots or want to keep the skins on for extra fibre, do so, otherwise they can be peeled. The skins are a little bitter, but don’t tend to influence the soup too much in either direction. 

 

Step by Step Instructions for Stock

 Step 1

If roasting your chicken carcasses preheat the oven to 200C or 390F, then roast for 40-60 minutes until golden brown, with the 1 kg of carrots underneath. Slosh some olive oil over the carcasses and carrots and coat all surfaces.

Give the pan a shake about halfway through roasting. 

If using roast chicken carcasses, jump straight into Step 2. 

 

Step 2

Load the carrots and chicken carcarsses into your pressure cooker or large stock pot and cover with cold water (up to the liquid level/just covering contents). Chop carcasses into pieces to fit using a large knife or a meat cleaver. 

For the pressure cooker, cook for one hour, let steam release and then open and stir well to break apart bones, then cook for another hour.

On the stove, cook at a very low simmer for about 12 hours, stirring every so often and adding more water as needed to cover pot contents. 

Step 3

Strain out the bones and carrots, squish to get extra juices, then discard. You now have your stock, the liquid left over. 

Step 4

Allow stock to cool so fat floats to the top for easy removal, or scoop off as much fat as you can while it’s cooling and the oils float to the surface.

You need to remove as much fat as you can, since the fat is now oxidised and unhealthy fat. Once this is done, your fat-free stock is ready to use in your stock. 

Step by Step Instructions for Soup

Step 1

The soup is made on the stovetop, as you’ll need a much bigger pot than your pressure cooker allows to fit all the liquid. 

Add 1 tbsp of garlic-infused olive oil and 2 tbsp of olive oil to the pot over a moderate heat. 

You want it to be about a 3-4 out of 8 heat, as you want to gently cook the vegetables for about 45 minutes. 

 Step 2

Add the chopped anchovies, three diced carrots, bulb of chopped fennel and finely chopped chilli to the pot and stir well to coat in oil. 

Cook gently until vegetables are very soft and the oil is basically gone, leaving a caramelised anchovy coating on everything. Depending on your stove, this could take 30-45 minutes. Don’t rush it – this is a very important flavour-enhancing step! 

You’ll know when they’re done – it’s just before they start to fall apart and burn. 

 Step 3

Once the starter mirepoix is ready, add your stock liquid and two diced potatoes, then cook until potatoes are soft through. Test with a knife. 

Add your other vegetables and the rinsed lentils – zucchini, broccoli, beans. Here you can add in whatever you like in terms of veggies – brussel sprouts, cabbage, whatever you fancy. 

If you’re adding starchy root vegetables, add them with the potato so they have longer to cook, and don’t overcook the greens.

Bring to the boil and cook for a further five minutes or until the vegetables are tender but not overcooked. Keep in mind that if you’re freezing these, you’ll be reheating them and the vegies will get another little bit of cooking later on. 

Step 4

Your soup is done! 

Squeeze fresh lemon juice and sprinkle with fresh parsley to serve. 

 If freezing, you’ll need to scoop even amounts of all ingredients into your containers, so just beware that many ingredients will sink (lentils, pieces of chicken) and may screw up your portions. Avoid ending up with watery broth in one container and all solids in another! 

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