Pharmacy in a Bowl, from Love and Hunger

There are 75 recipes in Charlotte Wood's book, Love and Hunger. Today, she shares a delicious seasonal warmer with readers of A la mode frangourou.   


Seeing as we’re heading into cold weather, I‘m offering this big pot of simple lentil soup. I first made it once when I had a horrible head cold and became convinced it cured me – hence the name.

Pharmacy in a Bowl    

Olive oil •       5 cloves garlic, finely chopped •       1 brown onion, finely chopped •       2 small red chillies, finely chopped •       1 stick celery, finely chopped •       1 leek, finely chopped •       ¼ white cabbage, finely chopped •       1 red capsicum, roughly chopped •       3 carrots, roughly chopped •       3 litres chicken stock •       1 head broccoli, roughly chopped •       1 x 400g can tomatoes in juice •       1 cup Puy lentils (also known as ‘French-style’ or ‘blue’ lentils) •       Salt and pepper •       Parmesan cheese, grated .  

 1. Sauté the garlic, onion, chilli, celery, leek, cabbage, capsicum and carrots in batches in the oil until well browned.
 2.      Put the chicken stock in a big pot on the stove and bring to the boil, tossing in all the sautéed ingredients. Add broccoli and tomatoes, and simmer until all vegetables are tender.
 4.      Reserving stock, remove vegetables with a slotted spoon and puree in a food processor or blender until smooth (or roughly blended, depending on how rustic you like your texture).
5.      Return pureed vegetables to stock and add lentils. Simmer for about 15 – 20 minutes or until lentils are tender (more if you want them falling apart). Season well with salt and pepper.
 6.      Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan.
(Vegetarian option: replace chicken with vegetable stock)

There are 75 recipes in Charlotte Wood's book, Love and Hunger. Today, she shares a delicious seasonal warmer with readers of A la mode frangourou.   


Seeing as we’re heading into cold weather, I‘m offering this big pot of simple lentil soup. I first made it once when I had a horrible head cold and became convinced it cured me – hence the name.

Pharmacy in a Bowl    

Olive oil •       5 cloves garlic, finely chopped •       1 brown onion, finely chopped •       2 small red chillies, finely chopped •       1 stick celery, finely chopped •       1 leek, finely chopped •       ¼ white cabbage, finely chopped •       1 red capsicum, roughly chopped •       3 carrots, roughly chopped •       3 litres chicken stock •       1 head broccoli, roughly chopped •       1 x 400g can tomatoes in juice •       1 cup Puy lentils (also known as ‘French-style’ or ‘blue’ lentils) •       Salt and pepper •       Parmesan cheese, grated .  

 1. Sauté the garlic, onion, chilli, celery, leek, cabbage, capsicum and carrots in batches in the oil until well browned.
 2.      Put the chicken stock in a big pot on the stove and bring to the boil, tossing in all the sautéed ingredients. Add broccoli and tomatoes, and simmer until all vegetables are tender.
 4.      Reserving stock, remove vegetables with a slotted spoon and puree in a food processor or blender until smooth (or roughly blended, depending on how rustic you like your texture).
5.      Return pureed vegetables to stock and add lentils. Simmer for about 15 – 20 minutes or until lentils are tender (more if you want them falling apart). Season well with salt and pepper.
 6.      Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan.
(Vegetarian option: replace chicken with vegetable stock)