I often cook yummy things but I almost never post recipes on here. So I think I’ll start doing that. Today I made a lentil soup. Lentils are great because they’re delicious and filling and good for you. Here’s how I rocked it (most measurements are approximations):
- ~1.5 cups of lentils
- 1 red onion
- 2 large carrots
- 3 celery stalks
- 4-5 small potatoes
- 3-4 cups of spinach
- 4 small tomatoes (bonus if they’s dry farmed and ripe)
- 1 large can of crushed tomatoes
- tandoori seasoning (basically coriander, ginger, cardamom, saffron, cumin and paprika, in case you want to add individually)
- garam masala powder
- 7-8 dried bay leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
- cream (optional, just a touch, to stir in at the end)
Chop up the onion and sauteé in some vegetable oil. If you want to add some heat to the soup, you can also chop up a chili pepper and sauteé with the onion. Add the chopped carrots, celery, fresh tomatoes and lentils. Add the can of tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Throw in the chopped potatoes and ~3 cups of water. You’re going to have to eyeball the consistency on this one and figure out for yourself how much water you need. Add about a tablespoon of each tandoori and masala seasoning (you will need to confirm with your own taste buds), the bay leaves and salt and pepper to taste. You can also add some crushed red pepper for heat.
Simmer on medium-low heat for about an hour and a half. In the last half hour add the chopped spinach. Check to see if you need any more spices, or salt/pepper. If you want to add cream, do it in the last 5 minutes. There is your delicious soup. Eat it with some bread, like an Acme sourdough loaf. You’re welcome.
Tags: cook, food, lentil soup recipe
Hmmm… that sounds yummy. Resembles my mom’s lentil soup (which I try to make for ages now, but nowhere as successful as she makes it). Though hers is less complicated, and skips some of the ingredients such as spinach and celery stalks.
Three points you can use (based on her recipe):
- use only red lentils
- add some garlic cloves
- the most important difference: replace potatoes by 2 sweet potatoes (or yums), Add them in big pieces, as you’ll need to “fish” them out when they are softened. Then mash them with a fork, and add the mash back to the soup.
That sweet potato idea sounds fantastic! I will try it next time. And garlic makes everything better. Thanks for the pointers!
do you just put lentils in straight from the bag or do you have to soak them in water first overnight? dont you do that with some legumes/ why some yes, why some no?
Some legumes you soak, others you do not. It is not necessary to soak lentils because they are relatively soft and small. Larger, harder beans need to be soaked because they are so dehydrated. Soaking them overnight reduces the amount of time you need to cook them. I believe there is also a concern that small stones or weird random grit can be in a bag with lentils so some people rinse them before use. I do neither. Straight in the pot.