Red Lentil Soup with North African Spices by @MysteryMacRae #Halloween

 

If you like the warmth of soup with spices (nothing too hot or biting), then this recipe is for you. It's fairly easy and just look at the color! Perfect for Halloween. 

Red Lentil Soup with North African Spices

(Adapted from The Complete Plant-Based Cookbook, by America’s Test Kitchen)

 

Ingredients

¼ cup olive oil, divided

1 large onion, chopped fine (we used 2 medium onions)

½ teaspoon salt

¾ teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon pepper

⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 garlic clove, minced (we used 2)

4 cups vegetable broth, plus extra as needed

2 cups water

10 ½ ounces (1 ½ cups) red lentils, rinsed

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 ½ teaspoons dried mint, crumbled

1 teaspoon paprika

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro (we used way more than that)

 

Directions

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in coriander, cumin, ginger, pepper, cinnamon, and cayenne and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Stir in broth, water, and lentils and bring to a vigorous simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lentils are soft and about half are broken down, about 15 minutes.

Whisk soup vigorously until broken down to a coarse puree, about 30 seconds. Adjust consistency with extra hot broth as desired. Stir in lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Cover and keep warm.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in 8-inch skillet over medium hear until shimmering. Off heat, stir in mint and paprika. Serve soup, drizzling individual portions with 1 teaspoon spiced oil and sprinkling with cilantro.

 

 

Not a trick. Definitely a treat.

The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes “murder with a dose of drollery.” She’s the author of the award-winning, national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries and the Highland Bookshop Mysteries. As Margaret Welch, she writes books for Annie’s Fiction. Her short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and she’s a winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest and connect with her on Twitter  or Instagram.