Red lentil soup

I usually don’t bother with lemon zest, but I’m glad I did this time! It really lifts this soup to the next level. And the optional added greens make it extra healthy. This recipe is adapted from A Couple Cooks and makes 6-8 servings.

Ingredients

• 3 large carrots

• 1 medium yellow onion

• 3 celery ribs

• 6 garlic cloves

• 2 quarts vegetable broth

• 1 cup water

• 1 pound split red lentils (what you find in stores are usually split red lentils, even if it doesn’t specify split on the package. Avoid buying whole red lentils.)

• 1 ½ tablespoons smoked paprika

• 1 ½ teaspoons lemon zest

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• Fresh ground black pepper

• Optional: 2 cups chopped spinach or kale

• Optional: Cashew cream, for serving

• Optional: Cilantro, for serving

Instructions

1. Peel the carrots. Finely dice the carrot, onion, and celery. Mince the garlic.

2. In a large pot or Dutch oven, sauté the onion, carrots and celery (in a little oil or broth) until the carrots are tender, about 5 to 7 minutes.

3. Stir in the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the broth, water, red lentils, smoked paprika, lemon zest, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.

4. Bring to a low simmer, then cover halfway and gently simmer until the lentils are just soft but before they start to break apart, about 7 to 10 minutes. Watch closely and taste to assess doneness. The finished soup should be brothy with the lentils just soft; cooking past this point yields a very thick stew which is just as delicious but less soup-like. (If you’d like, you can add handfuls of greens in the last few minutes, like chopped spinach or kale).

5. Taste and add additional salt to taste, and a few grinds black pepper. Leftovers can become very thick, so you can add a little water or broth when reheating.

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