Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter or oil
• aromatics (1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 parsnip, 1 leek, 2 cloves garlic)
• 1.5 liters vegetable broth
• 1 can (400 g) diced tomatoes without skin
• 400 ml tomato juice from a carton
• 250 g red lentils

Spices

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground dried coriander
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons mixture of thick oyster sauce with soy sauce

Preparation

1. Peel, rinse and dice the vegetables into small cubes. Heat butter or oil in a large pot with thick bottom, add vegetables and braise covered on low heat for about 4 minutes, stirring from time to time (do not brown, just lightly sauté until translucent).
2. Pour in the broth, add all the spices and diced tomatoes from the can, bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes until the vegetables soften slightly, then add tomato juice and bring to a boil again.
3. After another 10 minutes of simmering, once the vegetables are completely soft, blend everything in a blender. Pour back into the pot, bring to a boil, add rinsed and drained lentils. Simmer for about 10 - 15 minutes until the lentils are completely soft. Season if needed with salt and freshly ground pepper. Sprinkle with fresh chives.