serves 4 to 6
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped fine Salt and pepper
¾ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch cayenne pepper (I leave this out)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 garlic clove, minced
4 cups vegetable broth, plus extra
as needed
2 cups water
10½ ounces (1½ cups) red lentils, picked over and rinsed
2 tablespoons lemon juice, plus extra for seasoning
1½ teaspoons dried mint, crumbled
1 teaspoon paprika
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Optional:
1/2 lb of small potatoes, boiled for about 15 mins
15 oz can of chickpeas
1 Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and # teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in corian-der, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and cayenne and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and garlic and cook for 1 minute.
2 Stir in broth, water, and lentils and bring to vigorous simmer.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until lentils are soft and about half are broken down, about 15 minutes.
3 Whisk soup vigorously until broken down to coarse puree, about 30 seconds. Adjust consistency with extra hot broth as needed. Stir in lemon juice and season with salt and extra lemon juice to taste. Cover and keep warm.
Add chickpeas and/or potatoes and warm up. You may need to increase the amount of broth accordingly.
4 Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in small skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Off heat, stir in mint and paprika. Serve, drizzling individual bowls with 1 teaspoon spiced oil and sprinkling with cilantro.