Passionate Homemaking

Thanks to my SIL Autumn for shar­ing this recipe! We tried it last night and it is deli­cious! If you use split peas, it must be cooked all day, or else blend the full con­tents in the blender to break down harder peas. That has worked for me. I like how it com­bines some other vegi’s to give it excel­lent flavor. I increased the cumin and salt to my taste. This makes enough for 3-4 meals in our house. Nice for the freezer!

Spicy Lentil Soup

1 table­spoon coconut oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 large parsnip, or two car­rots (I used car­rots and rutabaga)
2 celery stalks
1 tea­spoon ground cumin
1 tea­spoon chili powder
1 tea­spoon ground red pepper (UPDATE: this makes it extremely spicy in my book, I ellim­i­nate it)
1/4 tea­spoon salt (increased to about 1 1/2 tsp)
1/4 tea­spoon black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 1/3 cups water
2 1/3 cups dried lentils
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
42 ounces chicken or potato broth
1 (28-ounce) can diced toma­toes, undrained
Sour Cream (you can also use kefir)
Cilantro sprig (optional)

Prepa­ra­tion: Soak lentils overnight in water. Drain and rinse lentils. Heat oil in a large pot oven over medium-​high heat. Add the veg­eta­bles; sauté for 3 min­utes. Add the cumin, chili powder, red pepper, salt, black pepper, and garlic; sauté for 1 minute. Add water, lentils, cilantro, broth, and diced toma­toes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 1 hour. (I found it took more like two hours for my peas, so def­i­nitely start ear­lier than I did to make sure they are com­pleted in time for dinner!)

Reserve 2 cups lentil mix­ture. Place half of remain­ing mix­ture in blender; process until smooth. Pour pureed soup into a large bowl. Repeat pro­ce­dure with other half of remain­ing mix­ture. Stir in reserved 2 cups lentil mix­ture. Gar­nish with 1 table­spoon sour cream and a cilantro sprig, if desired.

11 serv­ings. (serv­ing size: 1 cup)