I came across a recipe in the Hopewood cookbook the other day for spicy lentil soup. I made a few alterations because I didn’t have all of the ingredients and came up with what I’d say is the BEST lentil soup I’ve ever eaten. This opinion was backed up by my son and husband and the soup was gone within a day. Luckily it’s easy to make so I can whip it up again without too much fuss.
The good news is that it’s low in fat and a good protein source for vegetarians (and anyone else who likes clean healthy food). The other good news is that it isn’t complicated to make – I’m the kind of cook who likes to keep things simple. We tried it over quinoa for a heartier meal and it worked very nicely.
INGREDIENTS:
1 large onion diced finely
4 large cloves of garlic diced finely
3 large carrots diced finely
4 celery stems diced finely
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup of lentils (doesn’t really matter what kind)
8 cups of vegetable stock (you can pick this up at grocery stores if you don’t happen to make it yourself)
1 850g (30 ounces) can of tomatoes (try for one without added salt)
1 tablespoon of tamari (I used a teriaki sauce and it was great)
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
METHOD:
Put the lentils in a container to soak while you do the next step.
Heat a large pot and add the olive oil then add the onions, garlic, celery, carrots and cumin. Stir until onion is soft.
Drain the water off the lentils and rinse them well then add them to the pot
Add the can of tomatoes and vegetable stock
Turn down the heat and allow to simmer for about 45 minutes (test the lentils to make sure they’re soft).
Add the tamari (or teriaki sauce) and the tomato paste and stir.
You can either blend the soup a bit (with a regular or a hand blender) or leave as-is. Blending it makes a thicker consistency, it depends on how you like your soup. Serve with toasted pumpkin seeds and, like we did, over quinoa for a wholesome, hearty and really yummy meal.
