Melissa Clark’s Red Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large onion peeled and diced
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
- 1 large carrot peeled and diced
- 3 T olive oil good quality
- 1 t ground cumin
- ½ t Kosher salt plus more to taste
- ¼ t ground black pepper
- ¼ t chili powder your choice; mild New Mexico variety used
- 1 c split red lentils masoor dal
- 4 c chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 T lemon juice or 1 t ground sumac
- 2 T cilantro finely chopped, or 2 T mint/2 t dried mint
Instructions
- Sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil till wilted, around 3 minutes.
- Add the spices and sauté 2 more minutes till everything is reduced and aromatic.
- Add carrots, lentils and stock and simmer till the carrots are just tender, around 30 minutes.
- Transfer half the soup to a blender or use an immersion blender to purée so the soup is mostly a smooth even texture but still has lumpy bits.
- Add lemon juice or sumac and taste for seasoning; add more salt or chili powder as desired.
- Serve garnished with chopped cilantro or mint.
