As a kid, I disliked anything that had lentils in it. However, as an adult, I really like lentils. It is funny how that works.

I make a couple of different red lentil soups; this one is a bit spicier, and it is my adaptation, so I can’t credit another source. The great thing about this soup is that you can go from start to finish in less than an hour. I’m serving it up with some Naan bread, which is more South Asian, but that is the way I roll.

If you want it less spicy, use less chili powder. Let’s take a look at the recipe.

Here we have one carrot, one parsnip, and one onion diced. One and a half cups of red lentils, rinsed. One teaspoon of cumin, a pinch of Chili Powder, 2 cups of water, 4 cups of chicken broth, 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, and a little salt and pepper. At the end of the recipe, the juice of one lemon and some chopped cilantro are added.

Cook the onion until somewhat brown. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the spices and tomato paste, and stir for about 1 minute.

Add two cups of water. Add the carrot and parsnip.

Add the red lentils. You could use other colored lentils, but the red lentils look the best.

Add 4 cups of chicken broth. If you want a vegetarian dish, use vegetable broth.

Partially cover and simmer for 40 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

While the soup is cooking chop up some fresh cilantro and slice a lemon in half.

When the vegetables are soft, remove half of the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. Then return this mixture to the soup pot.

Add the juice of one lemon to the soup and mix.

Decorate the soup with some of the cilantro.

Add a bit more cilantro to each serving. Here I’m adding some toasted garlic Naan bread.

This is a simple, delicious recipe. Give it a try.

Mike