Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 large yellow onion, chopped fine
salt and pepper
3/4 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground ginger (dried not fresh)
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch cayenne pepper
1 tbsp tomato paste - plain not flavoured (I use Hunt's)
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed through a garlic press
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
10 ounces (1 1/2 cups) red lentils, picked over and rinsed
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, plus extra for seasoning
1 tsp dried mint, half of it crumbled
1 tsp paprika
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Directions: |
Directions:1. Melt 2 tbsp butter in Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and 1 tsp salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add coriander, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne, and 1/4 tsp pepper and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in broth, water, and lentils and bring to simmer. Simmer vigorously, stirring occasionally, until lentils are soft and about half are broken down, about 15 minutes.
2. Whisk soup vigorously until it is coarsely puréed, about 30 seconds. Stir in lemon juice and season with salt and extra lemon juice to taste. Cover and keep warm.
3. Melt remaining 2 tbsp butter in small skillet. Remove from heat and stir in mint and paprika. Ladle soup into individual bowls, drizzle each portion with 1 tsp spiced butter and serve. |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: Fabulous! This is one of my favourite soups. Easy to double recipe and freeze. If freezing, I change step 3 as follows: Soften remaining butter to room temperature, mix in mint and paprika so that it is paste. Spoon out 1 tsp portions of spiced butter onto plate covered with plastic wrap. Put plate in freezer for about an hour. Peel off spiced butter portions and refreeze in small plastic bag. Also, another tip - since you only use a small amount of the can of tomato paste, I portion the rest in 1 tbsp blobs, put on plate covered with plastic wrap and freeze for about an hour. Peel off tomato paste portions and freeze in small freezer bag for future use. It's a great way to use leftover tomato paste! Serves 4-6.
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This recipe for Red Lentil Soup with North African Spices is from