Recipe: Waiter, there is a man in my soup

THE first wet weather recipe comes from Helen Wattrass of Canterbury, Kent. She writes: 'I first 'ate' this soup in Hungary in a restaurant in Eger . . . My Hungarian friend translated it from the menu as 'Catch-a-Man' soup. I work as a civil engineer on building sites and have often spent many hours in the wet and cold. Sometimes I dream of a man making this soup for me in the dreary days of December. I then think of it as 'Catch-a- Woman' soup. Here is a version from the Arany Sarkany restaurant in Szentendre.' Ms Wattrass has won a bottle of Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 1990 from Barossa Valley, South Australia, available at Reid Wines of Hallatrow, near Bristol.

Catch-a-Man Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients: 5oz (150g)

lentils

7oz (200g) smoked sausage,

sliced

1 small onion, peeled and

finely chopped

3 1/2 oz (100g) carrot, peeled

and diced

3 1/2 oz (100g) parsnip, peeled

and diced

1 3/4 oz (50g) celeriac, peeled

and diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1tbs French mustard

sea salt and freshly ground

black pepper to taste

2tbs red wine vinegar

2 bay leaves

1tbs vegetable oil

1tbs butter

7fl oz (200ml) sour cream

Preparation: Soak lentils overnight, drain and rinse. Cook in 2 pints (1 litre) water, simmering until half- done. Add root vegetables, sausage and bay leaves. In a frying pan, melt butter in vegetable oil. Gently sweat onions until translucent, then add garlic. Do not brown. Stir in mustard and sour cream. Pour over soup and simmer for a few minutes. Before serving, add vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Next week, more wet weather food. For our new series we return to the most popular category ever: curries. Send recipes, stating the source, to Emily Green, Recipe, Weekend Features, The Independent, 40 City Road, London EC1Y 2DB. Winners will receive two bottles of Pinot Grigio Borgo Molino from the Friuli region of Italy. It is a gewurztraminer-style wine perfect for spicy food.