Spiced Red Lentil Soup
Description
This soup on it’s own easily rivals a tomato soup/comfort food craving, but the minty spiced butter takes it over-the-top into one of our new forever favorites. Wave even declared that it ‘required atmosphere’ to be properly enjoyed! Borrowed from America’s Test Kitchen, trust the recipe – enjoy!
Ingredients
2 T. butter
1 large onion, finely chopped – I used my mini chopper
1 t. kosher salt AND a good grinding of freshly black pepper
1 t. coriander AND 1/2 t. cumin
1/4 t. ground ginger AND 1/8 t. cinnamon AND a pinch of cayenne
1 can (156 mL) tomato paste AND 1 clove of garlic, minced
4 c. chicken broth AND 2 c. boiling water mixed with 1 T. Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base
~300 grams red lentils, picked over and rinsed
2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
Spiced Butter Topping
1/4 c. (57 g) butter, melted
3 t. dried mint – I sourced a (large) bag, but I feel like you could check your tea drawer for pure mint tea and use those leaves!
2 t. paprika
Instructions
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat, add in the finely chopped onion with the salt and pepper and saute for a few minutes until softened. Sprinkle in the coriander thru cayenne (5 spices) and stir for several seconds until fragrant, then stir in the tomato paste and garlic and keep stirring for a good minute until it all comes together and starts to brown a titch.
Stir in the broth, the Better Than Bouillon mix and all of the lentils and bring to a simmer. Allow the soup to simmer rapidly (while keeping a close eye on it) for about 15 minutes until the lentils are soft and some have obviously broken down. At this point, turn off the heat and carefully but vigorously whisk the soup to further break up the lentils and smooth out the soup as much as possible. Stir in the lemon juice and taste for seasonings – maybe more salt or lemon? and then cover and keep warm until you’re getting close to serving – or refrigerate and then reheat when you wish. At any point you may wish to add more water to thin it out a bit but we enjoyed ours on the slightly thicker side.
When you plan to serve, gently reheat the soup, and as it’s coming to temperature, make the butter topping. Add the butter to a glass bowl and microwave in 20 second intervals until melted and warm. Stir in the mint and paprika. Ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle in a spoonful of the spiced butter and garnish with some cilantro – this sounds offbeat, but it’s so, SO tasty!
