It’s December, but not really winter in Atlanta yet. With only a few weeks left of this crazy year, I’m trying to cover some of the dishes that have been missing from the blog after all this time. This is yet another way to eat lentils– think of it as a “grown up” version of food I was making when I first started craving mad. I caramelized some onions with leftover confit (sub in oil or regular butter to make it vegetarian), and use that to add variety to the overall soup base.

Use whatever you have: bell peppers, shallots, lemongrass…I just added curry paste…and top it with water or stock. Now, I like lentils to have some texture, but I should’ve soaked the lentils for a hour or so. They had to boil for more than an hour to soften enough to eat– soaking may have cut that time in half. You can choose whichever stock you have available for this– anything besides water! Since the lentils are pretty flavorless on their own, you really want to add in as much potential to absorb flavor as possible.

Wait for the soup to thicken, then season to taste. It’s going to need some fresh herbs and lemon juice before you serve it, but that’s literally all there is to do.

Wait for the soup to thicken, then season to taste. It’s going to need some fresh herbs and lemon juice before you serve it, but that’s literally all there is to do.

Let’s cook.

You’ll need:

4 Cups Green Lentils, soaked

1 Onion, diced

1/4 Cup Parsley, minced

2 Tbs Garlic, minced

2 Tbs Curry Paste

2 Tbs butter/oil

6 Cups Stock

2 Limes

1 Cup Plain Yoghurt

1 Tbs Paprika

1 Tbs Turmeric

1 Tsp Coriander

1 Tsp Dried Mint

1 Tsp Chili Powder

1 Tsp Ginger Powder

Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Slowly carmelize the onions in a pot on medium low heat. Salt as needed, and stir until browned.
2. Add the soaked lentils, and curry paste. Raise the temperature to medium-high, and add spices to taste. Stir until fragrant.
3. Cover with stock, add lime juice, and boil until the lentils add soften. Taste for seasoning. Reduce until you reach your desired consistency.
4. Mix yoghurt and dried mint until smooth, keep chilled until ready to serve. Add to the soup as a condiment.
5. Taste the soup for seasoning, then serve with the yoghurt.

Done.