Red Lentil Soup

I love soups! Usually, they are easy to make and oftentimes, they taste better over time (read: no bland leftovers).

I first had red lentil soup while working at a restaurant during my undergrad years in Ann Arbor. Instantly, I fell in love.

As you will soon come to know, dear readers (or soon-to-be dear readers), is that I believe in getting the most nutritional value out of what I eat. However, I never, under ANY circumstance, will sacrifice flavor for health or calories. There are so many ways to enhance the flavors that are already in an ingredient, and this simple soup is a testament to that.




Red Lentil Soup

You need:

• 1 cup red lentils, washed and cleaned
• about 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 white onion, chopped fine
• 4 carrots, chopped fine
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped fine
• paprika, cumin, black pepper, sea salt, red pepper flakes
• 1 Tbs heavy cream or half and half
• lemon

You will:

1. Place the red lentils in a colandar and rinse. Sift through to remove and debris or damaged beans.

2. Chop vegetables and garlic ( I used a food processor, saves so much time! A blender with some of your chicken stock works fabulously, as well).

3. Place the washed and cleaned lentils into a medium pot with the stock and chopped vegetables and garlic.

4. Add 2 tsp of cumin; add 1 tsp paprika and sea salt; black pepper to taste.

5. Bring the pot to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Loosely place a lid on the pot leaving slightly ajar as to allow some evaporation. Cook for 20 minutes until the lentils are tender.

6. Place 2 cups of the soup into a blender or food processor and blend briefly. Return blended soup to the pot with the reserved cup of soup. Add cream and stir thoroughly. Heat through.

7. To serve, top portions with red pepper flakes and squeeze the juice of 1 lemon quarter into soup. Place rind in soup for added liveliness.

(Excuse the lemon-thyme chicken! Recipe to soon follow!)