Leftover soup

Most Sundays I have some friends over to mine for a roast. Last Sunday, it was lamb with roast potatoes and onions, peas, and mint sauce while we watched England loose painfully to Germany. Almost every week I used to make the same soup from the leftover vegetables and roast carcass - it was a tangy, creamy, Middle-eastern number with rice - truly delicious. Now, however, this soup reminds me of my life with the ex and the trauma of the break-up, so I have needed to find another way to utilize the leftovers. One day, I will make the Middle-eastern soup once again, and blog about it here, and then I will know that I am really and truly over it all. I look forward to that day, but until then I must make a different leftover soup. And it is in these circumstances that I have stumbled across a little gem

I covered the carcass, leftover potatoes, rosemary, onions, peas and mint sauce with cold water and brought it to the boil. I let this simmer for a couple of hours and then left to cool. While it was simmering, I soaked some green lentils. When it was back to room temperature, I took the carcass out and pulled all the meaty bits off, putting them back in the pan, and discarding the bone. I added the lentils and cooked the soup once again, until they softened, seasoned it, and ate it for supper with some fresh crusty bread

I ate this for dinner the next day in exactly the same way, adding just a bit more water when cooking. The final day, however, I added a bowl of water to make it the right consistency for a soup, and also a handful of quinoa and some spicy pepper sauce, and created another soup altogether. I can't wait to try making this soup with other leftover roast meats and vegetables, as I have a feeling it will taste completely different every time - a great discovery!