Lemony Red Lentil

Prep Time: 60 mins | Servings: 8 servings for a first course or lunch.

PERFECT FOR: Rainy Days, Lunch, First Course

SOUP STORY

I have always loved Indian food. The wild and intense flavors lured me in when I lived in New York City in my twenties and thirties. During those carefree days, I loved exploring the landscape of Indian restaurants from street side food carts to downtown hole-in-the-walls, to midtown buffets to elegant East Side white tablecloth haunts. One particular dish you can imagine I became obsessed with was the Mulligatawny—a spicy red lentil broth that comes in many variations but my favorite was always the most simple and vegetarian versions—resulting in a spicy, lemony, velvety red lentil broth. When both of my daughters fell in love with my classic French lentil soup, I couldn’t help but day dream about turning them on to Mulligatawny. Recently, with some extra time on my hands, I played around with the Mulligatawny—creating my own version by toning down the spice factor and pumping up the lemon and cilantro. The result? A wonderfully flavorful but approachable version perfect for the whole family. My girls now beg for it for quarantine lunches-they call it the Lemony Lentil Soup! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 large Spanish onion, chopped

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 3 tablespoons tomato paste

• 4 teaspoons ground cumin

• 2 cups red lentils

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt + more if you are like me

• 2.5 quarts chicken broth or the Imagine No-Chicken Broth

• Juice of 1 lemon—have 1 more available to flavor to your taste

• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

• Plain Greek Yogurt

DIRECTIONS

• In a large stock pot, add olive oil, onions and garlic and sweat for 5-10 minutes

• Stir in tomato paste and cumin—stir to blend

• Add lentils and sauté to coat

• Add chicken or “no chicken” broth and bring to a boil (see below recipe to make stock from scratch)

• Lower to simmer and allow lentils to soften for around 45 minutes or until soup texture is to your liking

• Squeeze in 1 lemon or more to taste

• Add salt and pepper to taste

• Garnish with fresh cilantro and a dollop of plain yogurt and serve with Naan bread

DIRECTIONS FOR STOCK IF YOU ARE MAKING IT FROM SCRATCH (no time? Use Imagine Chicken or Imagine No-Chicken for vegetarian)

• Add chicken parts and saute in olive oil, 10 mins

• Add whatever vegetables you have in the kitchen-onions, garlic, carrots, celery

• Add bundles of herbs in cheesecloth (whatever you like but parsley, thyme, bay leaves are go to

• Add water and simmer for a minimum of 3 hours, better if you can let this simmer all day 7-9 hours for most robust flavor

• Alternatively-you can roast chickens, remove the meat and set aside for soup and make a stock from the bones. If you do this you must be diligent about straining and checking the broth for any bones.

• Flavor with salt and pepper to taste and then strain and separate the meat, ensuring to check for bones as you shred the chicken with a fork.