Egyptian Lentil Vegetable Soup

Based loosely upon this recipe.

I used a pressure cooker for my lentils, which cuts the prep time down immensely. If not using a pressure cooker, after sautéing vegetables simmer all for around 45 minutes, or until lentils are soft. 

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• sea salt & fresh ground pepper
• 1 cup chopped zucchini
• 1 cup chopped carrot
• bunch of greens (I used kale) chopped
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 medium fresh tomato cubed
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• pinch of ground chili pepper
• pinch of cayenne
• dash of red pepper flake
• pour of maple syrup
• 8 cups of water
• 2 cups lentils (for a sturdy chunky version use brown)
• 4 cubes vegetable bullion 
• juice of 1 lemon

  Preparation:

• Sort and rinse lentils. Combine with 8 cups of water in pressure cooker. Bring to pressure on high heat. Place weight on pressure cooker and reduce heat making sure to maintain pressure (on my stove this is medium/low). Pressure cook for 6-8 minutes. When done I use the quick-release method to release the pressure (transferring the whole pot to the sink and running cold water over it until the pressure is released).
• While the lentils are cooking, in a large soup pot warm the olive oil
• Add the onions and sauté until translucent (about 5 minutes) 
• Add the garlic and sauté another 5 minutes
• Add the carrots and zucchini and all the spices and sauté until tender
• When the lentils are done and the pressure has been released from cooker add lentils to the vegetable mix
• Bring to boil and reduce to simmer
• Add bullion cubes, greens and frozen peas
• Simmer until bullion dissolves and greens are wilted
• Add lemon juice
• Add salt, pepper, and maple syrup to suit taste preference
• Garnish with fresh cubed tomoto

This soup is great because there is a lot of wiggle room. You can pretty much add whatever veggies suit your pallet. The leftovers are very versatile as well. One day I added some sweet potato puree, coconut milk, and curry powder to a bowl and it was a very tasty variation. I can also imagine this as a sort of gravy over quinoa, brown rice, or roasted sweet potatoes, YUM! Nourish yourself, and enjoy!

Comments

[criri]

Thank you!! I need more recipes like this!! :D

[Carli]

Thanks for the wonderful recipe! I really wanted to make it, but didn't have some of the ingredients, so I used what I did have, and it was delicious!

Instead of onion, I used 1 large potato. Instead of zucchini and carrot, I used 1 large butternut squash. I substituted the frozen peas with frozen broccoli. I used all of the same spices, kale, lentils, and lemon, but added pinto beans, and used vegetable broth instead of bouillon. So, I changed it up quite a bit, but it was wonderful. Thought I'd share my experience with you! :)