Simple Lentil Soup

Simple Lentil Soup must be one of the first soups I ever made.

With ingredients I always have to hand – red lentils, onion, garlic, cumin, lemon – it’s easy to make a batch whenever I fancy something warming and comforting.

The easy recipe can also be used as a base for a whole range of nutritious,  economical soups.

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I think Simple Lentil Soup is a fine example of the fact that good food doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive.

In fact, I started making it when I was new to cooking and didn’t have a lot of resources or experience. It’s hard to believe, but that was over thirty years ago now.

Despite all the wonderful food I’ve eaten in the intervening thirty-odd years, I still regularly return to Simple Lentil Soup.

RED LENTILS: EASILY AVAILABLE & AFFORDABLE

The soup is based on split red lentils: one of the most readily available pulses.

They’re also relatively cheap. If you’re on a tight budget then red lentils are a good source of fibre, protein and iron.

When I was young and very cash-strapped (and vegetarian, then vegan) I ate lots of red lentils. I cooked them in tomato sauce with wholemeal pasta, shepherd’s pie, in bakes and roasts, curries and of course, soups.

Bear in mind though, that the iron in lentils is harder to absorb than that in meat.

However, it’s thought that if you combine lentils with vitamin C then you’ll increase the absorption of iron. I add a good squeeze of lemon to Simple Lentil Soup just before serving. So, not only useful to give the flaovurs a real lift, it may also increase the nutritional value.

Another reason I like split red lentils is that, unlike many beans and pulses, they don’t need to be soaked.

They cook in around 30 minutes anyway but I still speed things up by soaking in boiling water. They don’t need long: a brief soak while you get the first stage of cooking done can cut the simmering time in half.

SIMPLE LENTIL SOUP

These days, as a committed omnivore, I saute the onions and garlic for my Simple Lentil Soup in butter. But you can substitute olive oil or any other you prefer.

To flavour the soup, I like to add plenty of ground cumin. I think its earthiness matches that of the lentils. While it’s all bubbling away, I also put in a sprig of fresh thyme when I have some in the garden. I love lemon thyme for this soup.

Salt (and also acidic food like tomatoes) tends to harden pulses which means they take longer to cook. But if you use a low salt stock (or even just water) and season with salt at the end, you won’t have a problem.

I prefer this as a light, delicate soup. But if you’d like it thicker, add another 50 grams of lentils to the amount shown in the recipe.

TO SERVE

I puree the soup with a stick blender before adding salt and some more black pepper.

Just before serving, I squeeze in the lemon juice. I like a sprinkle of vitamin rich and colourful parsley over the top of each bowl.

Bread, like the soda bread shown below, is the traditional accompaniment to soup. But if you want crunch as well, then take a look at my recipe for Creamy White Bean Soup where I also show you how to make croutons.

With a few simple tweaks, you can use the basic recipe as the springboard for a range of different soups:

• Add 2 tsp of garam masala and a few chilli flakes for a warmly spicy soup
• Make Lentil & Vegetable Soup by cooking 2 finely chopped celery sticks and 1 large, finely chopped carrot with the onion
• Replace some of the stock with milk for  a lightly creamy lentil soup
• Add a few handfuls of washed spinach for the final few minutes of cooking for Lentil & Spinach Soup

With everyday ingredients creating a nutritious soup with a delicate flavour, Simple Lentil Soup is surprisingly tasty and satisfying.

HAVE YOU MADE THIS SOUP?

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Simple Lentil Soup

An easy and economical lentil soup flavoured with cumin and finished with a refreshing squeeze of lemon.

Course Soup

Cuisine Vegetarian, Vegan, plant-based, World

Keyword soup, lentil soup

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 2 generous

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

• 25 g butter (or 1 tbsp oil)
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 2 rounded tsp ground cumin
• freshly ground black pepper
• 140 g split red lentils (soaked or unsoaked) see Recipe Notes
• 1 litre low salt stock (or water)
• a few sprigs thyme or lemon thyme optional
• salt
• 1 small lemon, juice only
• 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley finely chopped

Instructions

1. Melt the butter or heat the oil in a saucepan over amedium heat. Add the onion and cook until starting to soften and brown, stirring often (10-12 minutes).

2. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.

   Stir in the cumin and a good grind of pepper near the end.

3. Add the lentils (drain and rinse first if you soaked them) and stir so they're coated in the seasonings and fat.

4. Add the stock and the sprig of thyme if using. Stir and bring to a boil.

5. Turn the heat down, put a lid on and gently simmer until the lentils are very soft (15-20 minutes for soaked lentils, 20-30 minutes for unsoaked - see Recipe Notes)
   

6. Take the soup off the heat (if you added thyme sprigs, fish them out and discard) and puree until smooth using a stick blender.

   Taste and season with salt and more pepper if needed.

   Stir in the lemon juice.

7. Serve the soup scattered with the chopped parsley.

   Soup can be made in advance, cooled and stored in the fridge for 2-3 days or can be frozen.

Recipe Notes

Soaking the lentils in boiling water from a kettle while you gather and prepare the rest of the ingredients will cut their cooking time.

The recipe makes a light soup: add a further 50 grams of lentils for a thicker soup.

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