Quick and Easy Red Lentil Soup
INGREDIENTS
- 1 1/3 cup red lentils
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 heaping tbsp tomato paste
- 5 cups (or 550 ml) boiling water
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 1 tsp coconut or olive oil
- salt and red chili powder to taste
METHOD
Clean lentils of any foreign debris, rinse 2-3 times until water runs clear, drain, and soak in water (if you have time, for 1-2 hours until they expand in size). Soaking is not necessary but I found it useful as pre-soaked lentils cook faster.
In a large pot over sauté the onion in olive or coconut oil until golden. Add the carrots and sauté for another 3 minutes.
Stir in the spices and tomato paste for around for around 1 minute.
Then add vegetable broth made out of the stock cube and 550 ml boiling water. Immediately add the lentils and bring the soup to a boil.
Once it starts boiling, reduce heat to medium, and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the lentils have fallen apart.
Once the lentils and carrot are cooked, remove soup off the heat and let it cool a bit. Next pour it into the blender and puree until smooth consistency.
Taste for seasoning and add salt and red chili powder to taste. I also add few drops of the lemon juice.
That’s it! How easy was that?! The whole process to make this red lentil soup took less than half an hour of prepping and cooking time. The soup is very tasty thanks to the smoked paprika flavour and is very nutritious. Lentils are not only low calorie (only 230 calories per cup) legumes, but are also a great source of fiber, protein and vitamins and minerals.
Serve this soup with Turkish flat bread or just plain bread and butter. Yum!
