Bright Lentil Soup with Lemon

I was looking around my kitchen for pantry basics which had been around for a while. and red lentils caught my eye. Often I think about cooking lentils as a timely business, but honestly it isn’t always. This soup was from NY Times Food and I was surprised when it was done how light and tasty it is. Working with spice combinations is honestly both science and art, so I am trying to find recipes in my search for pantry meals which help hone my my internal eye for making these special taste relationships. This recipe fit the bill and I ate every last spoonful. Adding the lemon juice at the end is key to making this taste super bright and I strongly encourage you to utilize the cilantro as well.

Ingredients

medium onion, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

cup of red lentils

medium lemon

0.25 cup of cilantro

3 tbls of olive oil

tsp of tomato paste

tsp of cumin

0.25 tsp of kosher salt

0.25 tsp of ground black pepper

More than a pinch of Mexican Chili Powder

Quart of chicken stock

2 cups of water

2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

*Serving suggestion - with tsp of plain Greek yogurt or sour cream

Dice your onions and garlic.

Add 2 tbls of oil and turn on medium heat. When the onion is aromatic, add the garlic. Add the spices and cook for 30 seconds.

Add the chicken stock, tomato paste, cleaned/coined carrots and bring to a boil. Then add the red lentils and cook for 25-30 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. I cooked mine until they were creamy and totally integrated. Squeeze the lemon half into the individual bowls making sure not to miss the seeds, sprinkle with cilantro and enjoy. I enjoyed both with sour creamed dusting of Mexican Chili Powder and without and both were delicious. The flavors of the actual soup were stronger without the sour cream/yogurt. *You could easily make this soup vegan by using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock and I am sure it would be equally flavorful!