I have made quite a few batches of lentil soup in my time. All of them have been pretty good but this is the first one that I have absolutely, completely loved. I am giving credit for that to two things.
Thing #1 – I used awesome, homemade lamb stock for my soup, made from lamb shanks that had been braised in yummy things likes tomatoes, red wine and cinnamon.
And Thing #2 – I blended the soup, something I haven’t normally done when making lentil soup.
Now, if you have some awesome, homemade lamb stock go ahead and use that (especially if it has a tomatoes/cinnamon/red wine quality to it). If not, feel free to use chicken or vegetable broth for the soup but add half a cinnamon stick while simmering. Or if you don’t have that, I’d add maybe a 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon along with all the other spices.
Egyptian Red Lentil Soup
Adapted very much from a recipe in Food & Wine Magazine
1 red bell pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp chile powder
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup red lentils
4 1/2 cups chicken, lamb or vegetable broth
1/2 cinnamon stick
Optional garnishes: ground sumac, mint leaves, cilantro leaves, yogurt
Lentils!
First thing’s first, roast the pepper: Turn on the broiler and cut the pepper in half. Take out the ribs and seeds, smoosh down, skin side up and blacken under the broiler. When it’s done, place in a bowl covered with plastic wrap or aluminum foil to steam for a few minutes. Peel off the skin and chop up the pepper. Set aside.
In a large pot, heat the oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, 5 minutes. Add the cumin, coriander and chile powder and cook until fragrant, 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook about 2 more minutes.
Add the cinnamon stick, lentils, roasted red bell pepper, and broth. Simmer over moderately low heat until the lentils are very soft, 30 minutes. Make sure to stir up and browned, stuck spices that may be on the bottom of the pot.
Remove the cinnamon stick and discard. Working in batches, puree the soup.
Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with warm pita and any of the garnishes. I chose mint leaves, sumac and yogurt.
I have a year’s supply of ground sumac so I use it whenever the occasion arises.
Giant bag of ground sumac.