RECIPE Spicy Lentil Soup

[Guest guest]

This was really good, and my husband *really* liked it. Said it was

his favorite of all the lentil soups I have made. I halved the

cayenne (I'm a wuss) and did't have celery, so I ground about half a

tablespoon of celery seed and used that instead (I don't like celery's

texture anyway so this worked out well for me!). Spice lovers will

probably need to use cayenne as listed or even more. Oh, and I at

least doubled, maybe tripled, the garlic & the cumin.

 

Spicy Lentil Soup, from " Conscious Cuisine " by Cary Neff

makes about 12 cups

 

1/4 tsp extra virgin olive oil {I spread it around the bottom of the

pan with my fingers; add a few drops of water if things start to

stick, but I didn't need to}

1 c chopped yellow onion (about 1 large)

1 c chopped, peeled carrot (about 2 medium)

1 c chopped celery (about 3 medium ribs)

1 tsp minced garlic

2 c lentils (about 1 pound)

1 28-oz can diced stewed tomatoes in their juice

8 c vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp cayenne

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

 

Heat a medium stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil tp

lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Add the onion, carrot, celery and

garlic. Cook until the onion has softened, about 2 minutes.

 

Stir in the lentils, tomatoes, stock, bay leaf, cayenne, chili powder,

cumin, paprika, basil, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat,

and simmer until the lentils have softened, about 20 minutes. Remove

the bay leaf before serving.