Red Lentil Soup with Beet Greens
Author Notes: Bitter tasting foods contribute to better health but sadly, these foods are largely absent in a typical western diet. Inside our digestive system, bitter tasting foods do wonders! They reduce water retention in our bodies while cleansing our inner organs and blood. And don’t worry, you don’t have to start munching on raw bitter melon to include bitter tasting food in your diet! Many different types of leafy greens, spices like turmeric, and fenugreek seeds all provide the “inner” bitterness that your body needs.
The last time I was at the farmers market, I saw people buy the beetroots and discard their greens – boy are they missing out! These beet greens have a natural saltiness to them and can be added to all kinds of soups, stews, and warm salads. This warm and hearty lentil soup uses three of my favorite bitter foods – beet greens, fenugreek seeds, and turmeric. This is my go-to detox recipe for the cold winter! Enjoy some bitterness! —Medha | Farm on Plate
Food52 Review: WHO: Farmonplate is a classically trained chef living in Vancouver who cooks with fresh, local ingredients.
WHAT: A hearty soup with flavorful spices and Indian influence.
HOW: In a large pot, boil lentils, fenugreek seeds, tumeric, and ghee until tender, then blend into a purée. Add chopped cooked beet greens and lemon juice and serve yourself a heaping bowl.
WHY WE LOVE IT: If you went as hard as we did this holiday season on cookies, pies, and all variations of sweets, soup is the perfect January refrigerator staple. Health benefits aside, the bitter beetroots are, well, bitter and are a welcome addition to this soothing soup (Bonus: They can be easily swapped for whatever green you have in your fridge.) —The Editors
Serves: 6
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2
cups red lentils
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1
tablespoon fenugreek seeds
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1
teaspoon turmeric
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2
tablespoons ghee, separated
-
1
teaspoon salt
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1
tablespoon cumin seeds
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1
teaspoon finely shredded ginger
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2 cloves of garlic, chopped
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greens from 1 bunch of beets, chopped
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Juice of 2 lemons
- Sort, wash, and drain the red lentils.
- Put the lentils in a big pot with 8 cups of water, add fenugreek seeds, turmeric, 1 tablespoon of ghee and salt.
- Bring to a full boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Simmer until the lentils are soft and fully cooked, about 30 minutes.
- Purée the lentils in blender or with a hand blender, until the consistency is smooth. If the purée is too thick, add more water; then check for seasoning. Keep it warm.
- Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of ghee in a saucepan over medium heat.
- When ghee is hot, add cumin seeds and fry for 15 seconds, until fragrant. Add ginger and garlic, and cook it for another minute.
- Add chopped beet greens, cover, and cook for 5 minutes until tender.
- Sauté beet greens, then add them to the soup along with some lemon juice, and serve warm.
- This recipe is a Wildcard Contest Winner!
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Warm Weather Soup
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Dark, Leafy Greens
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Great for a rainy early winter night. I didn't have fenugreek so subbed toasted yellow mustard seeds. I used turnip and radish greens and added toasted cumin seeds to the dal mixture so they would be broken down by the blender. Definitely needs the acidity of the lemon juice. Will make again!
This was fabulous- the lemon seemed like a lot but it added such a bright note. Great recipe!
I adore beans and greens in any configuration. Last night it was home-grown calico crowders with collards. Mmmmm. I look forward to adding this to my portfolio.
Made this for a brunch recently and while it was good, I found it a bit lacking. Next time will mix it up a bit as I love the idea of using red lentils for soup. Thanks for the recipe!
Made this last night and it was delicious! Such an interesting combination, thank you! One question, I didn't use ghee as I didn't have any - what could I have used as a substitute?
Delicious -- spices are wonderful! -- and easy. As others note, an immersion blender works beautifully. I made it as a bread-and-soup entree. If I do so again, will also add a potato next time to help it become a bit more filling. A perfect starter soup!
BTW, beet greens are not at all bitter - more sweet and "beety" tasting. Sub chard, or something??
I am patiently waiting for the lentils to finish cooking. Smells fantastic. I added finely chopped beet stems to the simmering soup while I sautéed the greens with the ghee, cumin, ginger, garlic. Hope that the last step wasn't meant for the sauté of the stems? Either way, I'm sure this will be delish as all of the ingredients are so healthful! Anyone else not wanting the compost the pretty stems?
In the process of making this soup for the second time. As I re-read the directions, the last ones involving the beet greens seem to repeat a step? This time, using chard instead of beet greens and will try it again using the bitterest greens I can find. Thanks again.
This is a delicious soup and so unusual! I had frozen some extra and we had it for lunch today with naan bread, hummus and veggie sticks. It was so good that I am making another large batch to freeze, even though it is Springtime! Thank you for the recipe. Next I'll try your yogurt cardamom dessert.
Yogurt cardamom dessert? Sounds lovely! Where can i find the recipe for it?
Thanks..
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
So good! Made excellent leftovers, too, of course. I'm making a double batch today to freeze to have this on hand for future (frequent) enjoyment. ;o)
It is really hard to find beet greens in my area this time of year. Is there another bitter green that would work well with this recipe?
Hello Emily,
You can use arugula, kale, collard greens, dandelion greens, mustard greens, spinach. Any dark leafy green would do it! Happy cooking!
Congrats on the wildcard.. this is a truly delicious dal, and an ultimate comfort food. I sometimes saute fenugreek greens and add it for an extra musky kick of flavor.
Hey Panfusine,
Thank you! I love fenugreek greens in my daal.
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
So appealing! Congrats on the Wildcard win. I happen to have some beet greens in the fridge right now + all the other ingredients. I'll surely be giving this one a ride within the next day or two. ;o)
Hello Antonia,
Thank you! Let me know how the soup turns out!
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
It was terrific. I had but a small handful of beet greens, so I added baby chard and baby kale. Everyone liked it. Looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow!! ;o)
Thank you Franceska for trying the recipe! I am glad you like it. You are right, I made a mistake in writing the quantity of salt and beet greens also has saltiness too. I will change recipe to show 1 tsp!
Delicious and easy. Immersion blender worked perfectly to make it nice and creamy. I used only 2 teaspoons of salt and thought it was too salty so next time I'll use less. I had no ghee so I used a nice farm fresh organic butter. I used ground fenugreek and ground cumin as I didn't want whole seeds in the soup. I may add a cubed cooked rutabaga or potato when I serve it tonight. nice recipe!
Showing 21 out of 21 comments