Name: Red Lentil Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 4 cloves of garlic, minced; 1 medium onion, finely chopped; 2 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped; 2 tsp ground cumin; 2 tsp dried oregano; ½ tsp salt; ¼ tsp ground black pepper; 1 cup dried red lentils (200 g); 1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes (400 g); 4 cups vegetable stock (1 l); 1 bay leaf; 1 tbsp lemon juice

Ingredients

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
1 cup dried red lentils (200 g)
1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes (400 g)
4 cups vegetable stock (1 l)
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large pot and add the veggies (garlic, onion, and carrot). Cook over medium-high heat until golden brown, stirring occasionally.
Add the spices (cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper), and cook for 1-2 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
Incorporate all the remaining ingredients (lentils, tomatoes, stock, and bay leaf), except the lemon juice, stir, and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer (partially covered) for about 15-20 minutes or until the lentils are soft.
Remove the bay leaf, add the lemon juice, and stir.
You can serve the red lentil soup immediately, but I prefer to blend it using an immersion blender (a regular blend is okay as well).
Keep the leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for about 2 months.

Notes

Feel free to add your favorite veggies, spices, and herbs.
Crushed tomatoes can be replaced by diced tomatoes or even fresh chopped tomatoes (you may need to add more stock if you use fresh tomatoes though).
Any type of oil will do.
Add more or less liquid depending on how thick you want your soup to be.
If you want to reduce the amount of sodium in this recipe, omit the salt and use water instead of vegetable stock. You could also make your own vegetable stock with no salt or buy a low-sodium one.
Lentils don’t need to be soaked in order to reduce cooking time, but if you do soak them they will be easier to digest.
If you can’t find red lentils, use any other type of lentils instead, but you may need to add more or less water and the cooking time will probably change as well.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1/4 of the recipe
Calories: 168
Sugar: 8.2 g
Sodium: 449 mg
Fat: 4.9 g
Saturated Fat: 0.7 g
Carbohydrates: 42.6 g
Fiber: 19 g
Protein: 15.3 g