Curry Lentil Soup

Ahh, November. A new month, no more Daylight Savings Time, and a new rotation for Joe. My oven is still broken (no, I'm not finished griping about it yet), but I had this soup on the meal schedule anyway. I've figured I can sneak things that I like (vegetarian soups! lentils!) by Joe as long as they are strongly flavored. I see a lighter meal. Joe sees Indian food. It all works out.

Lentils are great because they cook quickly unlike some other beans, making this a doable weeknight meal. I found myself wishing for some naan or raita though, either which would make an appropriate companion for this soup.

Curry Lentil Soup
adapted from SparkRecipes

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp cumin

1 tbsp curry powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp chili (or cayenne) powder (less if you don't like the heat)

1 qt, vegetable broth

2 cups water

1 cup lentils

1 large carrot, chopped

Instructions

1. In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons oil over high heat until hot and shimmering. Add onion and garlic, and sauté until golden, about 4 minutes.

2. Stir in tomato paste, cumin, salt, black pepper and chili powder or cayenne, and sauté for 2 minutes longer.

3. Add broth, 2 cups water, lentils and carrot. Bring to a simmer, then partially cover pot and turn heat to medium-low. Simmer until lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary.

4. Using an immersion or regular blender or a food processor, purée half the soup then add it back to pot. Soup should be somewhat chunky. Reheat soup if necessary.

Optional: stir in 1/2 a lemon's worth of juice and 3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro. Serve soup drizzled with good olive oil and dusted lightly with chili powder if desired.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutritional Info:

Calories: 201.2
Total Fat: 10.7 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 1,059.5 mg
Total Carbs: 21.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 5.9 g
Protein: 5.9 g