Pea and Lentil Soup- 4 litres for $4

Soup season is upon us! And it has come with a vengeance. Last winter was my first winter here in Rotorua and I barely survived, that was with my internal pregnancy heater! Seriously though Auckland might as well be Bali, compared to the winters we get down here... yes I am aware it is not yet winter. 

This soup, almost seems to good to be true. It is silky, luscious, hearty and so, so so good. But it literally costs less than $4 to make! Nothing out of a packet, no pre-made sachets. All from scratch. The secret? Vege Scrap Stock! 

Two things I love, is a good homemade stock and zero waste! I saw a facebook video someone shared a while back on vege scrap stock, and just had to give it a go. Disclaimer with this recipe, because what you are putting in your scrap bag is inconsistent, it obviously will not always taste the same. This batch of stock was quite sweet because I had just done a whole lot of stewed apples, just bare that in mind, that you will not have the same consistency you would get with store bought stock. 

Vege Scrap Stock

So I started a large glad snaplock bag and every time I cut veges, I would pull it out and all my scraps to it. Things like onion skins, apple cores, rosemary branches. If it's biodegradable, it went in the bag. When the bag was full: 

1. I separated the scraps into two pots
2. Filled with water and brought to the boil on a high heat
3. Reduced heat to a low-medium and let it simmer uncovered for 30 mins. 
4. Let is cool
5. Strain and fill your ice- cream containers
6. Freeze! (Will keep for months in your deep freeze) 

Yesterday was one of those day, where the only thing that went right was my soup. JJ is cutting his first tooth, poor bugs cheeks are so red, being the sooky he is, he literally needed to be carried all day. Shyra-Beth was in full blown terrific two mood, which included a 45 min rampage through the house. I literally needed to make something I could just chuck on stove and kinda look at it ever 15 mins or so. 

This is cheap, lazy, peasant food at it's finest- Pea and Lentil soup. The sweetest from the peas, nuttiness from the lentils, heartiness from the potatoes, all accentuated by the humble salt and pepper is the perfect "come home from work to" meal. You can totally make this in your slow cooker too! 

Pea & Lentil Soup

4 litres of vege scrap stock

Approx 350g of frozen peas (I used a third of a 1kg bag) 

4 medium sized potatoes chopped roughly 

1/2 cup yellow lentils

2T lemon juice (just bottled) 

Salt and Pepper 

Parsley

1. If you have time to defrost your stock, do so otherwise just put in a big pot on a low heat and let it melt.

2. Once the stock has melted, add your lentils and potatoes and simmer on a medium heat

3. Once the lentils are just starting to break down and your potatoes soft enough for a fork to run through add your frozen peas till those are cooked. 
4. Blitz with a stick blender 
5. This is where it depends on what your stock tastes like. I felt it needed some acid so I added Lemon juice and salt & pepper and some chopped parsley for freshness! 
6. Served with some of our absolute favourite, Ploughmans Pumpkin Toast! 

Being a breast feeding mumma, with a teething baby, I did need some protein. So I stirred through some left over pasta mince we had from the night before and it was so good. So this soup does make a good base if you want to add other things to it like ham, corn or chunky veges. But it is just fine on its own!