Today, the 31^st of May is South Africa’s National Soup Day, sponsored by Denny. As arbitrary as it may seem, the idea behind National Soup Day is an altruistic one – a day designed to draw public attention to the plight of those who don’t know where their next meal is coming from, and show us how we can help them.

In June 2013, for every Denny soup product that you buy, the company will donate 40 cents worth of soup to Food Bank South Africa, the country’s only food banking network. This unique non-profit organisation delivers food to over 1000 NGO’s in South Africa, contributing to the livelihoods of South Africa’s poor.

So what do you do with your soup once you’ve bought it?

Serve as is – a bowl of soup served up with some fresh herbs and toasted baguette.

Use as a casserole or stew base – every oven bake needs a saucy base for its ingredients to cook in, enter ready-made soup.

Use to add flavour to a pasta sauce or chip dip.

Recipe for lentil and boerewors stew

Lentil and boerewors certainly seem like a juxtaposition – the epitome of South African meat culture combined with a vegan staple seems very odd indeed, but it tastes surprisingly good!

Ingredients:

1 coil of boerewors

2 cans of lentils

1 can of beef soup

1 onion, chopped

1-2 chopped tomatoes

A few sprigs of rosemary

Oil for sautéing

Method:

Begin by cooking the boerewors – either sauté in a lightly oiled pan or grill until nicely browned and cooked through then chop into chunks. In a large saucepan, sauté the onion and add the chopped tomatoes. When the tomatoes are beginning to soften, throw the lentils in and add the chopped boerie. Finally pour in the soup and sprinkle the whole lot with fresh rosemary. Allow soup to heat up and don’t forget to add a bit of water if the consistency is too thick for your liking. Stir to ensure all ingredients are mixed to your satisfaction and then serve either as is or over rice or a baked potato. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Helping South Africa’s poor has never been easier. Now go get soup-shopping!

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