Scottish Soup

Scottish Soup

This Scottish Soup is one of those recipes we keep coming back to, especially when the weather turns and you just need something that feels like a proper hug in a bowl. It's got that deep, hearty warmth from the lentils, a lovely earthiness from the kale, and bright herby notes from the rosemary and thyme that make it taste like it's been simmering all day. The lemon at the end is a little trick that lifts the whole thing and makes every flavour pop. Honestly, this is the kind of soup that makes you feel sorted for the week the moment it's done.

Cook: 25 min
Serves 4

Before You Start

  • Large saucepan

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 celery stick
  • 300g red lentils
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 100g spinach
  • 100g kale
  • 5g fresh rosemary
  • 10g thyme
  • 1 Juice of 1 lemon
  • 750ml low-sodium vegetable stock
  • 1 bay leaf
  • chilli flakes

Method

1

Preparing the veg

  • Peel and finely chop the onion, carrots and celery
  • Peel and grate the garlic
  • Wash the red Lentils
  • Wash the baby leaf spinach
  • Wash and de-stem the kale, rip in to bit sized chunks
  • Pick and finely chop the rosemary and thyme
  • Zest and juice the lemon
2

Cook the veg

  • Place the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the onions, carrot and celery, sweat down for 5 minutes until softened
  • Add the garlic and cook for a further minute
  • Stir in the lentils, rosemary, thyme, vegetable stock, bay leaf and red chilli flake
  • Bring up to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the lentils have cooked through, remove any froth that forms on the top of the soup during cooking
3

To finish and serve

  • Remove from the heat and stir in the spinach, kale and lemon juice and zest
  • Remove the bay leaf, season to taste and serve immediately with crust bread and salad

Tips & Variations

  • Make it even heartier: We love adding a tin of chopped tomatoes in with the lentils if we want something a bit more robust and filling on a really cold day.
  • Kale swap: If you can't get kale, savoy cabbage works brilliantly here. Just shred it finely and add it in at the same stage so it wilts down nicely.
  • Herb boost: Henry always adds an extra pinch of thyme right at the end of cooking. Fresh herbs added twice, once early and once late, give you this lovely layered flavour that really makes the soup sing.

Why This Works

The trick here is sweating down the onion, carrot and celery properly before anything else goes in. That's where the flavour base is built, and it's worth taking the time. The red lentils then do the heavy lifting, thickening everything naturally so you get that satisfying, almost creamy texture without needing any cream at all. Trust us on this one, the lemon zest and juice right at the end is non-negotiable.