Seriously Amazing Lentil and Tomato Soup

Seriously Amazing Lentil and Tomato Soup

This soup is a variation of one I found online. The original I started from can be found here. This soup is easy to make, and it is amazing the first day it is even better when reheated. You can use yellow, brown, green or red lentils. But I used and prefer red.

Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped (white, brown, yellow, or red)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 large carrots, halved and chopped ad ½ medallions
5 celery ribs, chopped
2.5 cups / 450g dried lentils, red, green or brown, rinsed
796ml / 26 oz crushed tomato
2 liters / 1.5 quarts (8 cups) vegetable or chicken stock or broth
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp coriander seeds crushed with mortar and pestle or ground in blender
2 tsp paprika powder
2 dried bay leaves
1 lemon (zest + juice)
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tsp pink salt (or to taste)
1 bunch or fresh cilantro finely chopped

Instructions
1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 5 minutes.
2. Add carrot. Cook for 7 - 10 minutes or until softened and the onion is sweet. Take your time.
3. Add all remaining ingredients except the lemon, cilantro and Salt. Stir.
4. Increase heat and bring to simmer. Place lid on and turn heat down to medium low. Simmer for 35 - 40 minutes or until lentils are soft stirring frequently.
5. Optional Thicken Soup: Using a stick blender, do 2 or 3 quick whizzes to thicken the soup (see video below). Or transfer 2 cups to a blender, let it cool slightly, then hold lid with tea towel and blend then transfer back into pot.
6. Add a touch of water if you want to adjust soup consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Grate over the zest of the lemon then add the juice of the whole lemon just before serving. Garnish with Cilantro, or if serving later add remaining cilantro to the pot and stir well.

Note: when I reheated it on the stove a few days later I added the zest and juice of a second lemon and it was fantastic!

You can see all the recipes I have created and collected here on OneNote.