Red Lentil Soup With Lemon

Melissa Clark creates more excellent recipes for the New York Times than seems humanly possible. So when she labels this soup “revelatory” and the cooking “painless” how is not worth a try? You first saute onion and garlic, stir in tomato paste and spices; then add broth, red lentils and diced carrot and simmer. Puree half so it’s both smooth and chunky, then finish with cilantro and lemon.
I had this for lunch two days in a row; adding some leftover roast chicken the second day. I froze the rest and will be so pleased to pull it out on the next rainy day. Lovely color and flavor, and I imagine healthy as well. A keeper!

3 Tbs. olive oil, more for drizzling

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbs. tomato paste

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. kosher salt, more to taste

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Pinch of ground chile powder or cayenne, more to taste

1 quart chicken or vegetable broth

2 cups water

1 cup red lentils

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

Juice of 1/2 lemon, more to taste

3 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro

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

Stir in tomato paste, cumin, salt, black pepper and chile powder or cayenne, and saute for 2 minutes longer. Add broth, two 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.

Using an immersion or regular blender or a food processor, puree half the soup then add it back to the pot. Soup should be somewhat chunky. Reheat soup if necessary, then stir in lemon juice and cilantro. Serve soup drizzled with good olive oil and dusted lightly with chili powder if desired.
Serves 4.

Note: I used an immersion blender, and pureed briefly right in the pot. An extra carrot and some lemon zest were nice additions.