David Herbert’s winter soup recipes

These two old-fashioned soups make hearty and easy dinners accompanied with bread; they’ll freeze for up to four weeks.

Hearty: spiced carrot and lentil soup. Picture: Guy Bailey

These two old-fashioned soups make hearty and easy dinners accompanied with bread; you can double the quantities and freeze for up to four weeks. I often add a little parmesan rind to the fennel soup.

Spiced carrot & lentil soup

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

Pinch of dried chilli flakes

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

600g carrots, coarsely grated (no need to peel)

140g dried red lentils, rinsed

1 litre vegetable or chicken stock

½ cup milk

Plain yoghurt and naan bread, to serve

Coriander leaves, to serve

Heat a large saucepan and dry-fry the cumin seeds and chilli flakes for 1 minute. Scoop out about half with a spoon and set aside. Add olive oil, grated carrots, lentils, stock and milk to the pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until the lentils have swollen and softened. Whizz the soup with a stick blender or in a food processor until smooth (or leave it chunky if you prefer). Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve with a dollop of plain yoghurt, a sprinkling of the reserved toasted spices and coriander leaves, accompanied by warmed naan breads. Serves 4

Fennel, bacon & chickpea soup

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve

2 rashers streaky bacon, chopped

2 small brown onions, sliced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 fennel bulbs, trimmed and diced

400g can chickpeas, drained

1 small stem thyme

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 litre vegetable stock

1 tablespoon roughly chopped parsley leaves, to serve

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the onions, garlic and fennel and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables have softened. Meanwhile, mash half of the chickpeas with a potato masher or pulse briefly in a blender. Add the thyme, bay, tomato paste, whole and crushed chickpeas and stock to the saucepan. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer gently for about 20 minutes, or until the fennel is tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve sprinkled with parsley and a swirl of olive oil. Serves 4