Ever since I returned from India, (where I happily ate vegetarian food for 10 days), my body has been craving lentils. While I am inspired to make Indian recipes, this soup was actually high on my list of new recipes to try. It's a total winter comfort food, easy to make, and popping with flavour. Plus, I found it on a fellow expat in Barcelona's website! I haven't met Ali, but her recipes look amazing, so I am going to be trying more of them soon! Here is the link to her recipe, I'm printing my version, which has a slight variation, with comments below.
https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/lemony-lentil-soup/
A hand-made bowl, just the right size, on a white Eva plate with Vials s+p shakers in the background. Available on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MaiaMingDesigns
INGREDIENTS:
-
1 tablespoon olive oil
-
1 medium white onion, peeled and diced
-
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
-
5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
-
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
-
1 1/2 cups red lentils, rinsed and picked over
-
2/3 cup whole-kernel corn (I'm embarrassed to say I used canned corn since there is no fresh corn available, not a problem)
-
2 teaspoons ground cumin
-
1 teaspoon curry powder
-
(optional) pinch each of saffron and cayenne
-
zest and juice of 1 small lemon
-
sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
DIRECTIONS:
-
Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion and carrots and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and translucent. Add garlic and sauté for 1 more minute, stirring occasionally, until fragrant.
-
Stir in the vegetable stock, lentils, corn, cumin, curry powder (plus saffron and cayenne, if using) until combined. Continue cooking until the soup reaches a simmer. Then cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are completely tender.
-
Ali purées her soup, but since I like chunky soup and my onions and carrots were already diced quite small, I did not purée my soup at all! I might try a purée a batch later.
-
Stir in the lemon zest and juice until combined. Taste and season the soup with sea salt and black pepper as needed.
-
Serve warm, in your favourite bowl.
I can't help showing off my pretty new Indian tablecloth, I love block-printed fabrics!