Soup is my favorite type of food, and I eat some type of soup every week, all year long. I came across this unique soup recipe over a decade ago when I was on the hunt for new flavor inspirations. This is definitely not your typical lentil soup recipe. Earthy red lentils provide the perfect base for late summer heirloom tomatoes, with spicy fragrant ginger, tart lime, and pungent cilantro. This soup captures the best flavors of early fall, and is a great recipe to help your body transition from the summer season toward cooler fall weather.
You will need:
- 2 quarts vegetable stock
- 3 cups dry red lentils
- 3” piece of fresh ginger, peeled, slivered
- 1 medium onion, chopped in ¼” pieces
- 10 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large carrot, grated
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp Himalayan salt
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large or 3 small heirloom tomatoes, blanched, peeled, diced
- 1 small jalapeno, seeded, minced (optional)
- 1 handful fresh cilantro leaves, chopped semi-fine
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
There are several steps involved in the preparation, so for convenience, I have organized the recipe into 3 steps.
Step 1
Cook the lentils in the vegetable stock for an hour, or until soft.
Step 2
In a large skillet, sautee the ginger, onion, garlic, carrot, in 1 tablespoon olive oil, along with the salt, bay leaf, turmeric, and cinnamon. Sautee for 15 minutes, or until the onions are transparent, and the carrot is soft. When finished, add this to the cooked lentils.
Step 3
Using the same skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the tomatoes, lime juice, jalapeno, and coriander. Fry in the oil until it becomes a thick paste. Stir this into the soup. Taste and correct the seasonings to taste.
Serve hot, garnished with generous amounts of fresh cilantro.
Enjoy!