Red Lentil Soup

No flour added, cooks up thick all on its own!

The first time I saw red lentils was in the States, one of those mixed bean packets that contain soup ingredients with a spice packet but I didn’t know what they were. Living in Israel, they are sold on their own in 500 gram packages and I didn’t know quite what to do with them.

I went on a visit to my cousin Debbie and her daughter Sara Hindy prepared a delicious soup and they told me it was a red lentil soup! Huh. Just so you know, when red lentils are cooked, they are not red at all. They turn a sort of yellow color and some people add tomato paste to keep a red color. Tomato paste is fine and well in its place but I didn’t want it in my soup- at least not this one. I got the recipe from SH but, of course, fiddled about with it.

A general note, I often use 2 tablespoons of chopped onions in my recipes. What I’ve learned to do, and it’s really worthwhile, is I chop up about 6-8 large onions and toss them with about 3-4 tablespoons of oil and cook them down till light brown, about a 25-30 minute deal, stirring them from time to time. The onions keep beautifully in the fridge with a layer of oil on them, but my favorite way to keep them is using an ice cube tray and packing them down when cool and freezing them like cubes, wrapped in plastic wrap like so:

the smaller frozen block is crushed garlic, I also freeze crushed cloves of fresh garlic since they don’t last well otherwise. Then, when you need them, boom there you go. Often, you just need a small amount in a dish and it’s a pain to each time have to chop and sautee the onions since it smells up both the kitchen and your clothes. So, the above onion is precooked.

You don’t have to defrost them, they will cook down into the soup beautifully.

Next, chop some carrots and celery.

Plunk into your soup pot with the garlic and onion and add a bit of oil. Next, rinse off the lentils and put into the pan. They may clump together (that’s normal) just break them apart with a spoon or your hands.

Add the rest of the spices, smoked paprika and paprika, pepper and salt and don’t forget the garlic powder. This may seem contraindicated since you are using fresh garlic but it adds another layer of flavor.

Pour 8 cups of water on top, stir and bring to a boil then lower to a simmer.

The nice thing about these lentils is they cook much more quickly than green ones and are usually ready in about 30 minutes. Even better, you do not need to blend them. They sort of semi disintegrate into a thick potage – soup- and just stir it as it cooks from time to time.

This is hearty, nourishing, filling and delicious. Especially nice for a cold day but good anytime.

Red Lentil Soup

2 1/2 cups red lentils (500 grams)

2 tablespoons chopped, peeled cooked onion or one small onion, which you will peel, chop and sautee

2 stalks celery, chopped

3 carrots peeled and chopped

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

2 tablespoons oil

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1-2 tablespoons salt (to taste)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

8 cups of water

Directions:

Rinse and drain your lentils. Set aside.

If your onion is not cooked, then sautee it in the 2 tablespoons of oil till light brown and add the teaspoon of crushed garlic and cook very briefly. Add the celery, carrots and lentils, paprikas, pepper, salt and garlic powder (yes I know it’s double garlic, on purpose for added depth of flavor). Add the rinsed lentils and if they’ve clumped, gently break them up with a spoon or your hands. Pour the water over everything, stir and bring to the boil and then lower to a medium/low simmer till gently burbling away. Stir from time to time and it should be done in about 30 minutes. It will thicken up on its own, no need to blend and no need to add flour. You may need to add a bit more water as it cooks up thick, you want it thick but not stand a spoon up in it. It sticks to your ribs and is delicious. I eat this summer and winter and all year long.