I did not intend for this soup to be vegan. That was just a happy coincidence. I’ve had a bag of red lentils just sitting in my pantry for a while now…maybe 6 months? I bought them on an ooh-this-week-I’m-going-to-eat-super-super-healthy kind of a whim. Sadly, they ended up pushed behind a box of whole wheat fusilli… until this week. I also had a bag of carrots to either eat or pitch that day. (I hate throwing away food!) And so, this delicious, creamy soup was created out of pantry items. Oh, and its super quick and easy. Yay for accidental vegan meals!
1 ½ cups red lentils, picked through and washed
2 large sweet potatoes, cubed
1 bag of baby carrots
1 onion chopped
1 jalapeno, seeds removed and minced
4 cloves of garlic chopped
1 inch ginger, microplaned
1 TBS tumeric
1 TBS cumin
1 bay leaf
8 cups low sodium vegetable stock
1 TBS olive oil
1 lime
cilantro
First, heat a large soup pot to medium and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Add the onions and jalapeno to the pot. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and cook until the onions are translucent, stirring occasionally. This should take about 5 minutes.
Next, add the garlic, ginger, cumin, bay leaf, and cayenne. Saute about 1 minute.
Add the carrots, sweet potatoes and vegetable stock. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Bring the soup to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Add the washed lentils to the pot and reduce the heat to low.
Simmer on low for 20 minutes, until the lentils are soft. Once the lentils are done, remove the bay leaf from the soup.
Using an immersion blender, carefully blend the soup until smooth. Be careful not to splash piping hot soup all over you…Squeeze half of the lime into the soup. Adjust salt and pepper if you need to.
Garnish with lime wedges, cilantro and plain greek yogurt. Enjoy!
Alexandra Taylor 