1 T. coconut or olive oil
1 lg. onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. minced fresh ginger
2 T. tomato paste
2 T. curry powder
1/2 t. red pepper flakes or more to taste
4 c. vegetable broth
1 can coconut milk
15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1-1/2 c. dry petite red lentils, rinsed and sorted
2 to 3 handfuls chopped spinach, kale or other green
salt and pepper to taste
Chopped cilantro, chopped green onion and/or sour cream for garnish
In stockpot, heat oil over medium heat and stir-fry onion, garlic and ginger a couple of minutes until onion is translucent. Add tomato paste, curry powder and red pepper flakes and cook for another minute. Add broth, coconut milk, diced tomatoes and lentils. Cover and bring to boil, then simmer on low heat for 20 to 30 minutes until lentils are very tender. Season with salt and pepper. Just before serving stir in greens and garnish with cilantro, green onion and/or sour cream.
ANN'S SOUP
I've been intending to make lentil soup since the weather has cooled so this recipe which appeared this morning in the newspaper looked very appealing (plus I had all the ingredients on hand). It proved to be very quick to put together and cooked fast since I used very small lentils. Best of all, it is delicious!
I love coconut in any form so used the coconut oil instead of olive. For the pepper flakes I used 1 t. aleppo pepper and 1 t. urfa pepper (I know, that's quadrupling the amount but I've got a real pepper habit and it honestly wasn't too spicy). I stuck with the veggie broth rather than my usual chicken substitution and just smushed up with my hands the can of whole tomatoes I had. The rain and cooler temperatures of the past couple months have been wonderful for my garden greens so I used some beautiful rainbow chard.
The soup was great topped with green onion, cilantro and yogurt (instead of sour cream since I wanted some tang) and eaten with some warmed up naan topped with olive oil and a sprinkle of za'atar.
Just getting back to soup after Thanksgiving "busyness" and this was a perfect choice. I always crave spicy food after turkey and sides. I pretty much followed Ann's version except for using only Aleppo pepper and I did cook the kale longer--I don't like chewy kale. This is very hearty and makes a lot. I will probably freeze some if I have the room. Somehow we never finish more than 5 or 6 servings before tiring of it.
ReplyDeleteIn the next week or two I will try Sarah's soup, that one looks like I'll need to shop for stuff I don't have on hand. And, if anyone has a solution for keeping cilantro on hand I'd love to know. Seems like I always need to run out for it (I love it and omitting it is never an option). Then there will be a slimy mess of leftover cilantro to throw out before long.
This soup is great and a keeper!
I completely forgot to write up my response to this recipe when I made it in November. But I'll say now that I really enjoyed it and, as happens with most lentil soups I make, it thickened up quite a bit after sitting overnight, so we ate it as a dal with rice and an Indian-style vegetable on the side. The coconut milk was a nice addition!
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