This hearty delicious red lentil soup has Middle Eastern notes that will be your go-to soup. Are you looking for a quick nutritious dinner during a weeknight or on a cold day? This soup is for you! It contains a handful of humble ingredients, but their combination makes this soup full of complex carbs a powerful flavor bomb! The mustard seeds add so much flavor and the lemon zest will elevate your taste buds in every spoonful! Did I mention it was gluten-free?!
INFORMATION ABOUT THIS SOUP
There are different variation of making lentil soup across the Middle East. Some recipes call for using potatoes, celery, nigella seeds, bay leaves, thyme, and coriander seeds in addition or in combination with some of the ingredients in this recipe. Having tasted many different lentils soups in Middle Eastern restaurants in Montréal, this is my version of the Middle Eastern lentils soup.
Mustard seeds – These lightly yellow colored spice have a plungent taste similar to wasabi or horseradish. Although mustard seeds are more commonly used in Indian cuisine, adding it to this soup gives it a wonderful zingy flavor.
TIPS FOR MAKING THIS RECIPE
Ingredients you need for making Middle Eastern red lentils soup
Rinsing and using lentils – I love using red split lentils for their quick cooking time, which is about 20 minutes. In addition, they are great in soups or purees because of their texture. You can also use yellow lentils to make this recipe as they are similar to the red ones in terms of texture and cooking time. Soaking lentils prior to cooking is a debating topic. Some people believe in soaking them first because it may increase mineral absorption into the body and improve digestion. To this day, the evidence is controversal. The objective advantage I see in soaking lentils is that it shortens your cooking time, especially if using the brown or green ones. I personally don’t soak red or yellow lentils. However, you will need to rinse them to remove debris.
Stock and broth substitution – I personally use bone broth in pretty much all the food I make whenever possible. Bone broths are so nutritious and offer so many benefits. For this soup, I am using chicken bone broth. However, if you are vegan or vegetarian, you can definitely use vegetable stock. Similarly, if you do not have bone broth, you can use any beef or chicken stock.
Blending the soup – I like the velvety and creamy consistency of lentil soup so I blend the totality of the soup. Sometimes, I do like to vary it a little by only blending only 2/3 of the soup and adding it to a the remaining unblended part, for a chunkier bite.
Storage – Your leftover soup can be refrigerated into an airtight container up to 5 days. You can also freeze it up to 3 months!
Equipment
- 1 Soup pot or cast iron dutch oven
- 1 Immersion blender or blender
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup dry red lentils rinsed
- 1 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups diced onion (about 1 large onion)
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 3 carrots diced
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- 1 Tbsp Mustard seeds
- 1 tsp Ground turmeric
- 5 cups Vegetable or chicken bone broth/stock
- Zest of a lemon and its juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Optional: Microgreens to garnish
Instructions
- In a soup pot or cast iron dutch oven on medium heat, heat olive oil and sweat onions and carrots, about 10 minutes.
- Add garlic, cumin, turmeric and mustard seeds. Stir well. Add red lentils and vegetable or chicken bone broth/stock. Bring it to a boil and decrease heat to a simmer until lentils are soft, about 20 minutes.
- With an immersion blender or blender, purée soup until it becomes creamy.
- Add lemon zest and juice, stir well.
- Drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil and garnish with some microgreens.
