Lentil Soup
Variations
548kcal30.6g protein15.7g fat75.8g carbs~$2.14/ serving*Estimates computed from the ingredient list; cost uses average US supermarket prices. Not a substitute for packaging measurements or your receipt.
only in an optional ingredient: dairy
Restrictions
Only if you add itdairy (yogurt)Leave that ingredient out and the dish does not have it.
Diets
No porkNo alcohol
Worked out from the ingredient list. It knows nothing about brands, shared equipment or cross contamination, and it is not a certification — if you have an allergy, you still have to read the label.
Ingredients
Servings:
| 1 cup |  brown lentils (rinsed, picked over) |
| 2 tbsp | olive oil |
| 1 unit |  onion (diced) |
| 1 unit |  carrot (diced) |
| 1 unit |  celery (diced) |
| 3 clove |  garlic (minced) |
| 1 ½ tsp |  cumin (ground) |
| ½ tsp |  coriander (ground) |
| 1 tbsp |  tomato paste |
| ¾ cup | tomato (chopped, with juice) |
| 3 cup |  chicken stock |
| 1 cup | water |
| 1 unit |  bay leaf |
| 1 tsp | salt |
| ½ tsp |  black pepper (ground) |
| 1 tbsp |  lemon (juice) |
Optional
Not counted above. The dish works without them.
| 2 cup |  spinach (chopped) |
| 2 tbsp |  parsley (chopped) |
| ½ tsp |  smoked paprika |
| ¼ tsp |  cayenne pepper |
| 2 tbsp |  yogurt (plain) |
Steps
- Sweat9 minmedium, lid ajar, no browningolive oil + onion + carrot + celery + a pinch of the salt, until the onion is translucent and slumped — pull the sweetness out with steam rather than color, because a browned mirepoix reads as roast and fights the earthiness of the lentil
- Toast1 minmedium, stirring constantly+ garlic + cumin + coriander, until fragrant; ground spices are fat-soluble and only release into oil, so thirty seconds here does more than a teaspoon more added to the pot later — and thirty seconds is also the margin before the garlic scorches bitter
- Caramelize2 minmedium, spread thin+ tomato paste, smeared across the pan bottom until it darkens from red to brick and stops smelling raw; this cooks off the tinny note and builds the savory floor the soup otherwise lacks with no meat in it
- Simmer35 minbare simmer, partly covered+ lentils + tomato + stock + water + bay leaf + black pepper, until the lentils are tender to the tooth but still holding shape. Keep it below a rolling boil: a hard boil batters the skins off, and the loose skins float while the interiors turn to paste. Add the lemon only later — acid early sets the pectin in the seed coat and the lentils will sit gritty for an hour without softening
- Mash2 minoff heatcrush about a quarter of the soup against the side of the pot with a spoon or a few pulses of a stick blender, then stir it back in — the released lentil starch thickens the broth so it clings, which is what separates soup from lentils sitting in stock
- Season2 minoff heat+ remaining salt + lemon juice + optional spinach, which wilts in the residual heat in under a minute. Taste before and after the lemon: the acid is what makes the cumin legible, and a lentil soup that tastes flat is almost always short on acid rather than salt