Turkish Red Lentil Soup

Interestingly enough, even my picky eaters are happy when they hear we are having red lentil soup  for dinner. I twisted the recipe a little by adding coconut milk to the soup. Give it a try!

Ingredients: 

• 1 1/3 cup (about 8 ounces) red lentils, picked through and rinsed 
• 7 cups low-sodium vegetable broth 
• 2 13ounce cans of coconut milk
• 1 large onion, diced 
• 1 large carrot, diced 
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste 
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin 
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste 
• 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste 
• Lemon wedges and chopped mint for serving (optional) 

Preperation: 

In a large pot, combine lentils, broth, onion, carrot, garlic, tomato paste, cumin and cayenne and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower heat and simmer, uncovered, until vegetables and very tender and lentils begin to fall apart, about 25 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and use an immersion blender to quickly blend the soup until it is creamy but not completely puréed. Or, you can blend about half the soup in a blender, but use caution when blending hot liquids: blend only in small batches, hold the lid down firmly with a kitchen towel, and begin blending on low speed. Add salt and serve with lemon wedges and a garnish of mint if desired.

Nutritional Info: 

Per Serving:200 calories (10 from fat), 1g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 480mg sodium, 34g carbohydrate (8g dietary fiber, 4g sugar), 12g protein