The Tour of Britain

7th- 14th September

The world-class cycling tournament is back, with seven days of nail-biting, head-to-head excitement. With the route stretching from Glasgow to Warwickshire, there are plenty of opportunities to catch the elite athletes as they whiz through one of your local towns. Prefer to make a weekend of it? There’s a plethora of idyllic country villages along the race path, but we’re partial to Pershore, where you can cheer your favourite team through their final stretch from the picturesque backdrop of the Cotswolds.

Ingredients

Method

Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium–low heat. Add the onions, garlic and ginger with a big pinch of sea salt. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring, until the onion has softened. Add the garam masala, chilli flakes, turmeric and mustard seeds, stir thoroughly and then add the lentils. Finely chop the coriander stalks and add to the pan with the nigella seeds and diced sweet potato and squash. Give everything a good mix. Dissolve the bouillon powder in 1.5 litres of boiling water. Pour this hot stock into the pan and bring to the boil over a high heat. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently and deeply so the lentils don’t stick to the base of the pan. The lentils and squash should be tender and retain no bite. Add the coconut milk and spinach, then stir well. After 2 minutes, remove from the heat and season to taste. Most stews, curries and chillis can be easily transformed into soup by the addition of water and a little bouillon powder, if it needs it, and the use of a stick blender. Making a soup from the base dhal will stretch out what you’ve got and provide extra portions. I always like to top soup with various textural garnishes, so here I’ve used my Perfect Garlic Baked Croutons to add crunch and, to keep it vegan, the creaminess comes from a drizzle of tahini. Yoghurt works really well here, too.