Creamy Red Lentil Soup with Lemon 🍋🇱🇧

Description

A cozy Middle Eastern red lentil soup simmered with warm spices and finished with bright lemon, perfect for dipping warm bread on a chilly day 🍋

Hook

Smooth, comforting and gently spiced – this one pot red lentil soup brings Middle Eastern flavors to your weekday dinner with almost no effort 🥣

Ingredients

• For the soup
• 🥄 30 ml olive oil (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz)
• 🧅 150 g yellow onion, finely chopped (1 medium / 5.3 oz)
• 🥕 80 g carrot, diced (1 small / 2.8 oz)
• 🥔 120 g potato, peeled and diced (1 small / 4.2 oz)
• 🧄 8 g garlic, finely minced (2 cloves / 0.28 oz)
• 🍅 20 g tomato paste (1½ tbsp / 0.7 oz)
• 🌾 250 g red lentils, rinsed (1¼–1⅓ cups / 8.8 oz)
• 🧂 6 g fine sea salt, or to taste (1 tsp / 0.21 oz)
• ⚫ 2 g freshly ground black pepper (½ tsp / 0.07 oz)
• 🌿 4 g ground cumin (1½ tsp / 0.14 oz)
• 🌿 2 g ground coriander (½ tsp / 0.07 oz)
• 🌕 2 g ground turmeric (½ tsp / 0.07 oz)
• 🌶️ 2 g sweet or smoked paprika (½ tsp / 0.07 oz)
• 🍃 1 bay leaf
• Liquid and finish
• 💧 1.2 l vegetable or chicken stock (5 cups / 40 fl oz)
• 🍋 45 ml fresh lemon juice (3 tbsp / 1½ fl oz)
• 🥛 60 ml extra stock or hot water, if needed to adjust thickness (¼ cup / 2 fl oz)
• For serving (optional)
• 🥛 60 g plain yogurt or labneh (¼ cup / 2.1 oz)
• 🌿 5 g fresh parsley, chopped (2 tbsp / 0.18 oz)
• 🌶️ A pinch of chili flakes or extra paprika

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Sauté the vegetables
2. Heat the olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, carrot and potato. Cook for 5–6 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is soft and slightly golden around the edges.
3. 2️⃣ Add garlic and tomato paste
4. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute more, stirring, until it darkens slightly and smells sweet and rich.
5. 3️⃣ Toast the spices
6. Add salt, black pepper, cumin, coriander, turmeric and paprika. Stir for 30 seconds so the spices bloom in the oil without burning.
7. 4️⃣ Add lentils and stock
8. Add the rinsed red lentils to the pot, then pour in the stock and add the bay leaf. Stir well, scraping the bottom of the pot to release any browned bits.
9. 5️⃣ Simmer until tender
10. Bring the soup to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover partially with a lid. Simmer for 20–22 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the lentils and vegetables are very soft and starting to fall apart. Remove the bay leaf.
11. 6️⃣ Blend for creaminess
12. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup directly in the pot until smooth and creamy, or leave a little texture if you prefer. If you use a countertop blender, work in batches and return the blended soup to the pot.
13. 7️⃣ Adjust consistency and flavor
14. If the soup is too thick, stir in a little extra hot stock or water until you reach a velvety, spoonable consistency. Add the fresh lemon juice and stir. Taste and adjust salt, pepper or lemon to your liking.
15. 8️⃣ Serve
16. Ladle the soup into warm bowls. Top each serving with a spoon of yogurt or labneh, a sprinkle of parsley and a pinch of chili flakes or paprika. Serve hot with warm flatbread or crusty bread.

Total Time

⏱️ Prep: 15 min
🔥 Cook/Bake: 30 min
🛋️ Rest: 5 min
⏰ Total: 50 min

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