As chilly days come our way, we have a delicious and nourishing soup recipe extract from the Donegal Rapeseed Oil charity cookbook for you to try:

Donegal Rapeseed Oil have created a charity cookbook, ‘Cooking with Donegal Rapeseed Oil’, to benefit three worthwhile charities with local links.

Recipes in the book are kindly donated by Ireland’s top chefs, restaurants, foodies and food companies, with Donegal Rapeseed Oil featuring as a key ingredient.

Sale proceeds go to The Alzheimer Society, The Good and New Cancer Bus and the Shalom Center for Conflict Resolution. The book is €14.95 and available to buy in local retailers and online at donegalrapeseedoil.ie.

To celebrate the launch, the folks at DRO have shared a seasonal recipe with Donegal Woman to show off one of the delicious and nutritious dishes we can make with the help of the cookbook.

Cooking with Donegal Rapeseed Oil: Spiced Carrot and Lentil Soup 

(Serves 4 People) 

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Carrot and lentil soup

Ingredients:

  • 600g carrots, washed and grated 
  • 140g split red lentils 
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds 
  • Pinch chilli flakes 
  • 2 tbsp Donegal Rapeseed Oil 
  • 1 litre hot vegetable stock, from a stock cube is perfect 
  • 125ml milk 
  • Naan bread and plain yogurt, to serve 

Method:

  • Heat a large saucepan and dry fry the cumin seeds and chilli flakes for 1 minute, or until they start to jump around the pan and release their aromas.
  • Scoop out about half of the seeds with a spoon and set aside.
  • Add the Donegal Rapeseed Oil, carrot, lentils, stock and milk to the pan and bring to the boil.
  • Simmer for 15 minutes until the lentils have swollen and softened. 
  • Whizz the soup with a stick blender or in a food processor until smooth. 
  • Season to taste and finish with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkling of the reserved toasted spices.
  • Serve with warmed naan bread. 

 

As warming as the recipe sounds, it’s heartwarming to know that the book will benefit three organisations:

The Alzheimer Society:

With three or four new cases of Alzheimer’s or related dementias being diagnosed each week in County Donegal, the work of the Alzheimer Society of Ireland is needed more than ever.

In the 25 years since the foundation of the Donegal branch, they have helped hundreds of families to cope with the condition.

About 180 families are currently being helped out of the 2200 families affected by the illness in the county, a number that will rise to 5000 families by 2035.

The Good and New Cancer Bus:

For cancer patients in the North West, treatment involves a very long road trip. The Good and New Cancer Bus, established by Eamon McDevitt, provides a free bus service for Donegal patients requiring radiation treatment at University Hospital, Galway.

“In the long, lonely journey of cancer, having a service like this up and running helps ease the burden for these people and takes another worry off their shoulders at a vulnerable time”.

Shalom Center for Conflict Resolution:

Shalom was founded in 2009 by Fr. Patrick Devine, SMA, a social entrepreneur and missionary priest with 25 years of experience helping to mitigate conflict and poverty in Africa.

Fr. Devine is a life- long friend of Austin, the Managing Director of Donegal Rapeseed Oil. He serves as the organization’s executive director, leading an international team of conflict resolution experts from various religious backgrounds and disciplines who are based in Kenya and neighbouring countries.

The organisation supports communities in conflict environments to rebuild relationships that have been fractured, deliver quality conflict management training to local communities and leaders, conduct peace education in primary and secondary schools and with local leaders and influential opinion shapers, promote the construction and development of interethnic schools, medical centres and water projects.

The cookbook aims to show how versatile Donegal Rapeseed Oil can be, and contains recipes of starters, mains, desserts, light bites and dips/marinades, including chicken wings with bbq sauce, sizzling garlic chilli prawns, sweet potato and carrot soup, chicken thigh and potato bake, beef fajitas, ribeye with smoky paprika potatoes, white chocolate tart with strawberry compote, carrot cake and much more.

Speaking about the book’s launch, Rhonda Laird, Marketing Manager for Donegal Rapeseed Oil says, ‘I have spent the past few months producing this charity cookbook for Donegal Rapeseed Oil and we are finally launched! I would sincerely appreciate everybody’s support for these three fantastic charities who deserve every bit of support for the work that they do.’

The charity cookbook is available online at www.donegalrapeseedoil.com and also in selected retail stores (list of stockists available on the website). The book is retailed at €14.95 plus postage if you wish to purchase online. For inquiries, please contact Rhonda at info@donegalrapeseedoil.com or on +353749145386.

“Finally, we would like to say a warm thanks to all our loyal customers who have continuously supported us throughout the years! We hope you enjoy this book as much as we do!” Rhonda said.