Author Notes
Lentils are among the healthiest foods, partly because they contain plenty of protein and other goods. They are among the earliest food cultivated in the Near East (those facts are candy to me as a history student) They are eaten in many parts of the world in many different ways and go by the name daal, dal, lens, linzen and probably plenty of others too.
Anyway, I like them but my boyfriend doesn’t. So even though he doesn’t complain when I make them, there are no compliments either, only when I hide them in a soup does he happily spoon them away. This red lentil soup is very filling, so great when your stomach is calling you.
—Janneke Verheij
Ingredients
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1 cup
red lentils
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1
red or yellow capsicum
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1
carrot
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1
onion
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6
garlic cloves
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1
small chili pepper
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1
lemon
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ground cumin
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pepper and salt
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chopped parsley
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stock (home made is always preferable)
Directions
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Cut the onions, garlic, carrot and capsicum small. If you like a spicy soup, you can also cut up the pepper, otherwise just cook it in a whole.
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Warm some oil in a soup pan and sauté the onions, add the garlic and the pepper, sauté for another minute and add the carrot and capsicum. Sauté everything together for another 3 minutes without browning it and add the lentils.
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Mix the lentils with the vegetables and poor in 3 cups of stock. The lentils will soak up some liquid so check after a while if there is still enough stock, if not add some more. The vegetables should be covered in stock.
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When the lentils have lost their shape and the carrots are soft, the soup is ready. Add juice of half a lemon and taste if it needs some more. Season with cumin, pepper and salt to taste and garnish with some chopped parsley. You can play with the seasoning; maybe add some curcuma, masala kerrie or paprika.
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