Google+

Friday, January 19, 2007

Red Lentil Soup



Here's a substantial soup for cold winter days! This Red Lentil Soup is filled with vegetables of the warm orange hue: orange cauliflower, carrots, rutabaga, and sweet potatoes, along with a hearty broth of red lentils flavored with cumin, curry, and cayenne. I also included some red kidney beans an a little chopped cilantro.

A bowl of this hot soup makes a meal and provides a powerhouse of protein and vitamins. You could also make this a great stew by using a little less water and serve over rice. The eggplant pesto adds a smoky depth to the flavor that I really liked. Jalapenos would also be fabulous in this dish, but I wanted to test the curry flavor on 6 year old Sweetpea (she liked it!) so I decided not to risk making it too hot.

Red Lentil Soup

2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 rutabaga, peeled and chopped (small)
3 carrots, sliced
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
pinch of cumin seeds
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup vegetable broth
3 cups water
1/2 cup red lentils
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp curry powder
salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp smoky eggplant pesto (optional)
1 cup orange cauliflower, cut into small florettes
1/2 cup+ red kidney beans
chopped cilantro to garnish

Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan and saute the onions for 3 minutes. Add the rutabaga, carrots, and pinch of cumin seeds, stir well, cover, and cook 3 minutes. Add the sweet potato and cook 2 additional minutes.

Add the vegetable broth, water and lentils, turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and add the cumin, curry powder, cayenne, and tomato paste. Simmer for 15 minutes, partially covered. Salt. Add the cauliflower, red kidney beans, and eggplant pesto (if using) and cook an additional 8 minutes. If the broth is too thick for your liking, add additional water. Check seasoning. Serve topped with chopped cilantro.

9 Comments:

Blogger Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

Beautiful photo, Catherine. I don't cook with red lentils often enough, so thanks for the reminder. For me, a jalapeno or hot sauce would be a must!

4:12 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

YUm, I would love to eat this. And I love your photo Catherine, very cute!

5:13 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

OOOOHH!! My kind of dish.YUM!!
Photo is excellent and looks delicious!:)

7:26 AM  
Blogger Alanna Kellogg said...

Very pretty! Like a spring flower in winter!

7:41 AM  
Blogger Catherine said...

Lydia - it was actually nicely hot, but I'm a keen on jalapenos myself.

Bea, asha, and alanna - thanks! I really like this photo too!

8:48 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That looks wonderful....what an array of flavors with lentils and veggies..!

Cheers,TRS

9:55 AM  
Blogger Susan Voisin said...

I could go for a bowl of this right now! And I love the way you framed the photo--a perfect flower.

12:51 PM  
Blogger warren said...

I'm very excited to try this dish! I was contemplating a few Mediterranean-style modifications... replacing the rutabaga and sweet potato with ordinary potatoes, switching the curry powder for a 1/4 tsp of turmeric, substituting the red kidneys with chick peas and adding a squeeze of lemon juice. I'll let you know how it turns out!

4:33 PM  
Blogger Catherine said...

Hi W,

Look forward to hearing how your version worked out.

C.

8:47 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home