A friend of mine lived in South Africa for several years and when she returned to the USA, she brought several of her husbands family recipes back with her. She gave me a copy of this recipe and I finally got around to making it this afternoon. Now I must tell you, I have never had lentil soup. I am accustomed to soup that is chunky & filled with meat and veggies, so I wasn’t expecting much.I couldn’t have been more wrong. This soup was fantastic. The array of warm spices blended perfectly with the lentils. My husband was wiping up every drop of soup from the bowl with his slice of beer bread. I urge you to try this recipe…it’s a keeper!

African Red Lentil Soup

Recipe by Diane BeckerCourse: Uncategorized

Servings

servings

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons butter
1 large onion, diced
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
¾ teaspoon coriander
½ teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 cups red lentils
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
Sprinkle of dried mint (optional )

Directions

In the soup pot, melt the butter.
Add the onion & salt and sauté for 5 minutes.
Add the pepper, ginger, cayenne, cinnamon, coriander, cumin and paprika and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
Add the chicken broth, water and red lentils and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling, turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the lemon juice and cilantro. Taste soup and if it needs little more salt, add it now
Either transfer the soup in batches to a blender or use an immersion blender to bring the soup to a creamy texture.
Ladle into serving bowls and put a small pat of butter (approx 1 teaspoon) on top of the soup and sprinkle lightly with dried mint.