Smoky tomato and lentil soup

I have been making so many different soups lately! A couple have been tried from Appetite for Reduction, smoky split pea which was lovely and a lentil and rice soup which I didn't enjoy as much. Others that have been popular from blogs are Ashley's curried chickpea soup, Lisa's madras-style red lentil soup and Sarah's smoky chiptole split pea and barley soup which I posted about a while ago. 

With so many soup recipes floating around that I had been choosing for so long it was time to find out if anyone else had a preference for something specific. Well the man definitely had something in mind! All he wanted was a simple tomato soup just like the one I used to make. I wasn't that enthused with his response so to get me a bit more excited he mentioned that it would be nice with smoked paprika. That was exactly what I needed to hear!

The tomato soup I made previously would turn out rather thin which I don't really fancy in a soup. I love how adding legumes to soup can give it some texture so I decided to include some red lentils. This was a great idea as after blending, the soup had a lovely velvety texture and it tasted beautiful. I didn't bother tracking down the old recipe for this and just made it up as I went along.  

Smoky tomato & lentil soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 leeks

4 cloves garlic

1 bay leaf

600g tomatoes, chopped
800g tin diced tomatoes

4 cups vegetable stock

1 cup red lentils

1 tablespoon smoked paprika
20 basil leaves, shredded

salt and pepper, to taste
Fresh basil to garnish

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan or stockpot, fry the leeks for about 5 minutes until they soften. Stir through the garlic for a minute then add the bay leaf, tomatoes, vegetable stock, lentils, smoked paprika and shredded basil leaves. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered for about 30 minutes until the lentils have broken down. 

Process the soup in batches in a blender or use an immersion blender to process the soup in the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Serve garnished with fresh basil or vegan pesto.