Red Lentil Soup

I just discovered red lentils about a year ago. They seem extra special, and a little more flavorful, than brown lentils. They are a beautiful orange-ish red, and turn yellow when cooked. They may be a little more difficult to find than brown lentils; I looked at three stores before finding them at Meijer.

This soup is delicious! I had just enough celery leaves that I had frozen from this summer's CSA, and I do wonder if the exceptional celery I used made a difference in the flavor. Hopefully when I make it with store-bought celery I'll like it just as much.

The original recipe gave instructions for making pita croutons and cooked onion for garnish. I went ahead with the extra steps and it was very worth it, only I just used my own pita chips, which I make at least once a week anyway. I ate two bowls of this soup, with the suggested garnish, and was full and happy for the rest of the day! For a hungry girl like me, that is an accomplishment for any soup. :)

Ingredients

2 T. olive oil

2 c. finely chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 t. ground cumin

1 t. ground coriander

8 c. vegetable stock

1 3/4 c. dried red lentils

2 carrots, finely chopped

1/2 c. coarsely chopped celery leaves

pinch of red pepper flakes

1/4 c. fresh lemon juice

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (I found I didn't need any at all!)

garnishes

2 T. olive oil (I only used a teaspoon)

1 large onion, thinly sliced

2 pita pocket breads (I used two of my homemade pita chips for each bowl)

Heat the oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the cumin and coriander; stir for about 30 seconds.

Stir in 6 cups of the vegetable stock, the lentils, carrots, celery leaves, and red pepper flakes. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in the remaining 2 cups of stock and the lemon juice. Season to taste.

Garnishes:

Simply slice the onion thinly and cook it in the oil until very tender and lightly browned.

Make pita chips (my recipe here).

Top each bowl of soup with a small mound of cooked onions and pita chips broken up into pieces.

Source: A Beautiful Bowl of Soup by Paulette Mitchell