Heat a stock pot with a medium heat and add in the olive oil

In the meantime, finely chop the onion, roughly chop the garlic, finely chop the red bell pepper, and cut the carrots (peeled) into small bite-sized pieces

Add the chopped ingredients into the stock pot, mix continuously, after 5 minutes add in the sherry vinegar, sweet smoked paprika and cumin, quickly mix together, then add in the grated tomatoes, mix together and let it simmer

In the meantime, add the lentils into a fine sieve and rinse under water

After simmering the grated tomatoes for 3 to 4 minutes and they've slightly thickened, add in the rinsed lentils, water, and bay leaf, turn it up to a high heat and give it a mix, once it comes to a boil place a lid on the pan and lower to a low heat

Once the lentils are just cooked through, which was 20 minutes in my case (check lentil package instructions), remove the lid, season with sea salt & black pepper and mix together, then remove the bay leaf and the stock pot from the heat

Using a hand blender, blend the soup until you get a creamy texture, then transfer into shallow bowls and garnish with a dash of crushed red pepper flakes and some parsley, serve warm or at room temperature, enjoy!