Hearty, healthy and delicious ~ tender red lentils and chickpeas flavored with warm, fragrant Mediterranean spices.
It’s great comfort food during rainy days — your house will smell amazing while this soup is simmering on the stovetop. And it’s very easy to make.
HERE’S HOW TO MAKE THE LENTIL SOUP
Start by chopping and sautéing a mix of carrots, celery and onions, along with a good amount of minced ginger and garlic in extra virgin olive oil. Use 3 medium carrots, 1 celery stalk, a small onion, 2-4 gloves of garlic, and a little bit of ginger. You can also use ground ginger if you can’t find fresh ginger at the market.
Next add ground spices: turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, paprika and red pepper. Stir the spices around in the pan for a minute or two, until they’re lightly toasted. At this point you’ll begin to notice the beautiful aromatic flavors of the dish.
Now, add the lentils (1.5 cup) and chickpeas (1 cup) and sauté for a couple of minutes with all the spices. And lastly, add some fresh chopped tomatoes or a can of chopped tomatoes and an abundant amount of vegetable stock. Bring to a boil and then cover and allow to simmer for at least 45 minutes. During the last 20 minutes of cooking you can had a handful or two of fresh chopped parsley to the soup.
To make the soup a little thicker, I normally will add 1-2 tablespoons of tomato paste while it simmers and at the very end I use my handy potatoes masher and give it just a few mashes. The soup remains chunky but becomes just a bit thicker when doing this. You may also add a little salt and pepper to your liking.
Serve the soup with a dollop of fresh thick Greek yogurt.