Armenian Soup

This recipe is from my oldest and most favourite cookbook : The Cranks Recipe Book by David Canter, Kay Canter and Daphne Swan.

My copy is from 1982!

As I said it's my first cookbook.

Cranks was a wholefood cafe and restaurant in Covent Garden in London for a long time.

It was not fashionable for a long time either.

The food was wholewheat and in most cases brown and a bit of a shock for most people's palates.

But for me, brought up in a family where white flour and processed food are kings it was a revelation.

I spent my pocket money as a teenager buying vegetables and tofu and wholewheat flour. We weren't well off and my parents didn't want to buy food they considered weird and scary.

I was the first to bring an onion into the house!

And a mushroom!

This book revolutionised what food I ate and taught me how to cook.

There are few pictures and so I learnt to not worry about how it was supposed to look and let myself learn from what came out.

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Armenian Soup

Ingredients:

red lentils, rinsed (100g)

dried apricots, unsulphured if poss (100g)

2 large potatoes

vegetable stock (around 2-3 pints) - his needs judging by your own preference of thin or gloopy

lemon, juice of one

ground cumin (2tsp)

parsley, chopped (6tbsp) - I often don't have fresh parsley and so just leave it out, it's still fine

salt & pepper to taste

Method:

Place lentils and apricots in a large pan.

Roughly chop the spud and add to the pan with the remaining ingredients.

Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for around 30 minutes, checking regularly that the lentils aren't soaking up all the stock and making it all burn (I speak from experience! Do not take a bath and leave this soup cooking).

Add more hot water or stock if so.

Allow to cool and blend until smooth.

Reheat to serving temperature and adjust seasoning to taste.

Serves 4-6

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This freezes well and is fine left for a day in the fridge, although you will need to add more water as it thickens too.

I love it.

Mr Muffinmoon loves it.

My Knit & Natter group love it.

Frank falls to the floor clutching his throat and gagging at the mere sight of any soup.

Sigh.