[Family note: I’d never been a fan of lentil soup, but Grandma wanted lentil soup so I went looking for recipes. She didn’t like this one (because it had too much flavor for her tastebuds, apparently), but I did. A lot. I think this soup is actually even better the next day.]
Ingredients:
1-2 T. olive oil
1 medium onion (trimmed and peeled)
1 C. carrots (cut in small pieces)
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 t. chili powder
1 t. cumin
2 cloves garlic (peeled)
handful fresh parsley
2 oz. tomato paste (roughly 1/3 of one of those little cans)
32 oz. chicken broth (look for the low-sodium organic chicken broth in asceptic boxes in the soup aisle)
1 C. red lentils (they’re called “red” but they look orange)
1/2 t. salt (less if using full-sodium broth)
1/2 fresh lemon (1 1/2 – 2 T. juice)
Directions:
You’ll need a cutting board, a sharp knife, and a saucepan with a lid.
Trim and peel your onion. Cut the onion in half. Carefully chop both halves. (Because this soup doesn’t use a blender, I’d suggest chopping your onion fairly fine.)
Put a medium (2.5-quart) saucepan on the stove. Pour in the olive oil and turn the heat to medium-high.
When the oil seems fairly hot, add your chopped onion. Stir the onion using a silicone scraper, wooden spoon, or something heat resistant.
While the onion is cooking, wash and cut up your carrots. (If using baby carrots, for example, cut them in thirds.) Add the carrots to the pot and stir.
Trim and peel your cloves of garlic. If you don’t have a garlic press, chop the garlic (but don’t add it to the pot yet).
While the onion and carrots are cooking, wash and chop your parsley.
Cook the onion and carrots until the edges of the onion are turning golden brown. At that point, grind in a generous amount of fresh black pepper and add the chili powder. Stir well and turn the heat down to medium. Add the cumin. Stir.
Add the chopped garlic. (Or use your garlic press to press the garlic directly into the pot.) Stir well. The garlic should become fragrant, but do not allow it to brown or it will become bitter.
Add the chopped parsley. Stir.
Add the tomato paste. (This will be roughly 1 T., but it is a pain to measure tomato paste; just use a spoon and estimate 1/3 of the 6 oz. can.) Stir well. Continue to cook the mixture for about 2 minutes, stirring regularly. (This will bring out the natural sugars in the tomato paste. It will probably also create a sticky mess on the bottom of your saucepan. But we’re about to fix that.)
Add about 3/4 C. of chicken broth and use it to deglaze the pan, scraping up all the flavorful bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add more broth as necessary to deglaze the pan.
When the bottom of the pan has been deglazed, add the rest of the broth and stir well. Turn the heat to high and add the lentils and the salt. When the soup comes to a boil, turn the heat down to medium-low, put the lid on the pan, and allow the soup to simmer for 25-30 minutes. (Set a timer.) The lentils will break down and the carrots will soften as the soup simmers.
As the soup simmers, roll your lemon back and forth on a firm surface to help release the juices. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze one half, thoroughly, over a clean glass. Use your tablespoon measure to fish out (and discard) any seeds. Confirm that you have more than 1 T. of juice. (If not, resqueeze your lemon and/or use the other half.)
When the timer goes off, remove the lid, stir the soup, and turn off the heat. Add the lemon juice. Stir well. Serve.
[Adapted from “Lentil Soup with Lemon” at https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/160051/lentil-soup-with-lemon]
Cooking Like Your Mom ♥ 