In Sweden it’s traditional to have pea soup and (crépe-style) pancakes on Thursdays. In pretty much every lunch restaurant and school cafeteria in the country, pea soup and pancakes will be on the menu.
I think it’s helpful to structure meal planning around a similar rhythm each week, so we have soup and pancakes every week too. I like that both dishes are easy to make ahead, especially since Thursday evenings can be a little hectic for us. The cleaners are usually just done at dinnertime so it’s a bit of a rush to get everything on the table. This soup can be made all in one go, or you can roast the carrots the day before while you are cooking something else, and then just cook it to a soup before dinner. I think I made this soup in three steps last time – roasted veggies the day before, cooked to soup the morning of, mixed smooth and heated up just in time to serve. Here is the recipe:
ROAST CARROT & RED LENTIL SOUP
- 3ish big carrots, peeled and sliced or cut into sticks – I also threw in some parsnips since I like the taste
- butter or olive oil
- salt and peppar
- one small yellow onion, chopped
- 1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
- stock – I used some baby stock (for babies, not of babies) that I had in the freezer, but you could use any old veggie stock or a cube and water
- around 100 ml red lentils, rinsed and picked through
- a few tablespoons of cream, if desired
- Heat oven to around 200 degrees c.
- Roast carrots (and parsnips if using) in a pan with butter or olive oil and salt and pepper for 45-60 mins until they have a golden tinge
- Sauté chopped onion and garlic in soup pot until soft and translucent but not brown
- Add carrots (and parsnips), stock and lentils and let cook until veggies are soft
- Let soup cool and mix in a blender or with a hand mixer until smooth
- Add cream if using and heat to taste
