Your best lentil soup recipe?

cupcakechef

cupcakechef

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One of my NY resolutions needs to be to use up things I have in my pantry, rather than just letting them hide out in the dark depths of it, never to be used...

Speaking of that, I have a big bag of red lentils (probably about a kilogram worth!) and I was thinking I should use it to make some soup. I've never really ventured into making lentil soup, although I've had it made by others before and enjoyed it.

Does anyone have a tried and true lentil soup recipe that they want to share with me? You'd be helping me de-clutter my pantry! ;)
 
I have never made lentil soup personally. I had a roommate that used to make it though. It ended up being one of the cheapest meals ever. I will sometimes make a dried split pea and ham soup...but lentils have their own taste and personality. FYI cupcake...I am visiting my son. He likes to watch a Japanese channel and last night they were cooking with lotus root...and showed how it was harvested...interesting! Not that helps with your lentil situation!
 
Check out @Duck59 's recipe for Recipe Miser Wat - Ethiopian lentil stew. It is a sort of thick soup. Really, making a basic simple red lentil soup couldn't be easier. Sautee some chopped onions in butter (or oil) until soft, add crushed garlic and cook a few more minutes. Add lentils and vegetable stock. Simmer until lentils are soft adding more water if needed. Add salt to taste. You can spice this up by adding cumin, coriander, turmeric or any number of other ingredients!
 
morning glory said:
Check out @Duck59 's recipe for Recipe Miser Wat - Ethiopian lentil stew. It is a sort of thick soup. Really, making a basic simple red lentil soup couldn't be easier. Sautee some chopped onions in butter (or oil) until soft, add crushed garlic and cook a few more minutes. Add lentils and vegetable stock. Simmer until lentils are soft adding more water if needed. Add salt to taste. You can spice this up by adding cumin, coriander, turmeric or any number of other ingredients!
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I remember seeing that lentil recipe now that you mentioned it, and thinking to myself that I really needed to give it a try since people I know have always said great things about how yummy Ethiopian food is!

It sounds like with the lentil soup I can kind of just wing it and season as I like..I guess I expected it to be more daunting! I think I'll just give it a whirl and taste it as I go and add more of certain spices to my liking!
 
cupcakechef said:
I remember seeing that lentil recipe now that you mentioned it, and thinking to myself that I really needed to give it a try since people I know have always said great things about how yummy Ethiopian food is!

It sounds like with the lentil soup I can kind of just wing it and season as I like..I guess I expected it to be more daunting! I think I'll just give it a whirl and taste it as I go and add more of certain spices to my liking!
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Red lentils will cook really quickly. Usually around 20 mins. Don't taste until they are soft or it will be horrible! Once they are soft you can add more spices and cook a while more. Let us know how it goes..
 
I made lentil soup using brown lentils, chopped up parsley and celery, pasta shells, two cloves of garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and tomato sauce. It was a disaster. :( I don't know if it's just because I'm a horrible cook (which I am, but I swear I followed the instructions to the letter), or the tomato sauce I used was bad, or I put in too much celery. It was so, so bad. It was especially disappointing because I was planning on serving in on New Year's Eve, since lentils are supposed to bring good luck.
 
morning glory said:
Red lentils will cook really quickly. Usually around 20 mins. Don't taste until they are soft or it will be horrible! Once they are soft you can add more spices and cook a while more. Let us know how it goes..
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I made a batch today! Ended up loosely basing it off this recipe I found online:

http://www.acedarspoon.com/moroccan-red-lentil-soup/

After you mentioned cumin and coriander I thought a Moroccan styed soup would be good. It smells really good and I've had a couple of sneaky spoonfuls to taste it already. I have a packet of store bought naan here too which I'm going to have with it to dip in. Just gone 3.30pm here so it's still a couple of hours til dinnertime but I think it's a winner!

I still have a ton of lentils left, but at least now I've got a way of using them. Let's hope hubby also gives it the thumbs up when he's home from work!
 
cupcakechef said:
I made a batch today! Ended up loosely basing it off this recipe I found online:

http://www.acedarspoon.com/moroccan-red-lentil-soup/

After you mentioned cumin and coriander I thought a Moroccan styed soup would be good. It smells really good and I've had a couple of sneaky spoonfuls to taste it already. I have a packet of store bought naan here too which I'm going to have with it to dip in. Just gone 3.30pm here so it's still a couple of hours til dinnertime but I think it's a winner!

I still have a ton of lentils left, but at least now I've got a way of using them. Let's hope hubby also gives it the thumbs up when he's home from work!
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I'm pleased it worked!
 
I have never really liked lentil soup, there is something about the texture... I do like lentils in other dishes and I should try some of the suggested soup recipes given here since lentils are so healthy.
 
I thought that I had read somewhere that when cooking legumes, you should cook them til soft before adding any thing acidic like tomatoes. Does anyone know if that is true?

@valdevento With any legume soup, I sometimes cheat on the texture by at least partially pureeing the soup with my stick blender. This could help with the lentil texture.
 
I regularly cook red lentil soup at home. It's easy, tasty and fast to prepare.
Here's the recipe I use:

Red Lentil Soup:

Ingredients:
  • 1 cup red lentil
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 onion
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp curry powder (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/4 cup cooking oil
Preparation:
  1. Cut the carrot and onion into small pieces. Pour the oil into a pot and after it has warmed up add the vegetables. Stir and let it stew for 3-4 minutes. After that wash the red lentil and add it to the vegetables. Add 1 liter of water (1 liter = 33,8 oz).
  2. After the soup starts to boil, add the spices (turmeric, curry powder, cumin, bay leaves, salt) and stir well. Let it cook around 30 minutes. After it's ready, take out the bay leaves and puree the soup.
  3. Before serving you can add some fresh parsley for additional taste. (I actually prefer mine without, but there are many people who love it.)
I hope you enjoy this recipe at least as much as my family does:)
 
Anyone here tried using the celery-carrot-onion ( mirepoix) on their lentil soup? I think these three are good to make your stock and in turn be used in the lentil soup. What do you think guys?
 
Bakemehappy said:
Anyone here tried using the celery-carrot-onion ( mirepoix) on their lentil soup? I think these three are good to make your stock and in turn be used in the lentil soup. What do you think guys?
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Yes, it is a great base for lentil soup. or almost any soup.
 
Can you add chocolate on your lentil soup? Is that a good idea guys? I am thinking of dark chocolate and or yogurt and maybe anything that has creme to it. I am guessing these ingredients will make it a hearty soup would you agree?
 
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