Thick red lentil, spelt and chard soup with fresh turmeric
In short: Spelt and red lentil soup with chard, leek and fresh turmeric. Warm, golden and filling.
Serves: 4. 60 minutes.
Bietola, Curcuma fresca svizzera, Porro, Aglio
Ingredients
- 160 g whole spelt
- 240 g hulled red lentils
- 600 g Swiss chard (stems and leaves)
- 100 g leek (½ leek)
- 10 g garlic (2 cloves)
- 8 g freshly grated turmeric (1 piece of 3 cm)
- 24 g rapeseed oil
- 1500 g celery-free vegetable broth
- 3 g salt
- 1 g freshly ground black pepper
- 35 g lemon juice (1 lemon)
Method
- Rinse the spelt and lentils. Separate the chard stems from the leaves: cut the stems into 1 cm pieces and the leaves into 2 cm wide strips. Cut the leek into rounds, chop the garlic and grate the turmeric.
- In a large pot, heat 24 g oil and soften the leek, garlic and turmeric for 4 minutes.
- Add the spelt and 1500 g broth, bring to the boil and cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes.
- Add the chard stems and cook for 8 minutes, then the red lentils and cook another 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until the soup is thick and the spelt tender.
- Add the chard leaves, cook for 3 minutes, season with 3 g salt and the pepper and turn off the heat. Serve with 35 g lemon juice stirred in at the table.
- Cool the soup quickly and put it in the fridge within two hours; keep it for two days at most and reheat only once in a pot with 50 g water, until it simmers gently.
Frequently asked questions
Can I prepare it ahead?
Partly: you can chop vegetables and pre-cook grains or pulses, then finish the dish just before serving. Keep it in the fridge and eat within a day or two.
Can I swap an ingredient?
Yes, pick a similar seasonal product (for example another vegetable from the same family) and check cooking times, which may change.
Updated on 25 October 2026