In Vermont, even in the third middle of May can be cool enough to have a fire in the wood stove, a perfect night for a soup and toast dinner.
The dark pink lentils in my pantry, labeled either as Red or Egyptian lentils in the market, don’t have a seed coat so they will disintegrate into a smooth puree as the soup cooks. Here’ s how I made it.
Lentil Soup
To begin, I sauteed one leek, one onion and three medium carrots, all cleaned and sliced, in one tablespoon of unsalted butter and one tablespoon of olive oil for about five minutes or until they were softened.
Then I stirred in flavors from the East, two large cloves of garlic, crushed, one tablespoon grated fresh ginger, one rounded teaspoon ground cumin, one teaspoon turmeric, half a teaspoon ground coriander and a large pinch of crushed red pepper flakes and cooked another minute before I added two cups of rinsed red lentils and five cups of water.
I covered the pot, brought it to a boil, reduced the heat to a simmer and cooked until the lentils were tender, about forty five minutes.
To finish the soup, I stirred in two teaspoons of vegetarian soup base, one diced zucchini and a tablespoon of fresh lime juice, adjusted the salt and pepper, and simmered for five more minutes.
Two slices of buttered toast and a bowl of lentil soup, a perfect dinner for a chilly Spring evening.
love the new format. Now I won’t forget an ingredient for my favorite Lentil Soup recipe!
always get a kick out of your watercolors and I bet it takes less than a blink for you to do ‘em … the soup looks nice and thick, fulfilling with tastes of far away…. great intro to summer…