I usually suggest making my super easy spiced lentil and carrot soup in fall and winter because it’s the typical comfort food you want to keep you warm. Still, if you are into cold or lukewarm dishes, you can enjoy this recipe also in summer.
Just like all my recipes, also this dish is easy, quick to make, and very healthy, perfect for the busy mom and businesswoman who’s very busy but doesn’t want to sacrifice her being healthy and fit.
Once you soak the lentils overnight, this quick spiced lentil and carrot soup is perfect to prepare in the morning before going out for work. If you chop the veggies also the night before, in the morning you just put everything to cook and by the time you are ready for work, your dinner will be ready too!
Spiced lentil and carrot soup – Ingredients
- Lentils. You can pick any lentils, whether red, green, big, or small. For this spiced lentil and carrot soup, however, the lentils need to be whole and not hulled. Even though it can be OK to cook the lentils without soaking them, I still soak them for the night as I find them easier on the stomach.
- Bay leaf. I usually add the bay leaf because it makes the lentils and in general all legumes easier to digest. If I don’t have a bay leaf, I add a piece of kombu seaweed.
- Lemon. It might not sound like a good match, but I always squeeze a bit of fresh lemon on the plate because I think it’s a great flavorful combination and also because vitamin C improves the absorption of the iron contained in the lentils. If you don’t like lemon, you can have something with vitamin C right after such as an orange or a kiwi.
Spiced lentil and carrot soup – Instructions + Tips
- Chopping the veggies. For this spiced lentil and carrot soup, I have decided to roughly chop the carrots so that they would be in large pieces and give a creamier result. If I chop the veggies too finely, I find the result to be more liquid.
- Making it creamier. To make this carrot and lentil soup creamier, I’ve adopted my mom’s ruse. I leave half a carrot without chopping and when it’s soft, I take it out, properly mash it on a plate, and incorporate it back into the soup. It’s a super easy trick that works magic!
Spiced lentil and carrot soup – Variations
- Pick your grain. I always add a grain to my soups and for this spiced lentil and carrot soup I particularly like either barley (preferably in summer) or buckwheat (usually in winter as it’s a warm grain). I use whole grains, in the case of barley and buckwheat, hulled. Sometimes, for my toddler, I serve it with small star-shaped pasta.
- Pick your spice. You can play a lot with the spices here. I like my spiced lentil and carrot soup with coriander, curcuma, and cumin, but if you don’t fancy these, you can easily swap one or more for the spices you prefer. I think ginger, chili flakes, black pepper, nutmeg, or even your favorite curry, which is usually a blend of spices.
- Play with the herbs. I love rosemary so it’s hardly missing in any of my soups, but you can really adapt to your taste and also depending on the season. I think anything from parsley, basil, and fresh coriander is a flavorful addition.
- Add a veggie. Just because the main veggie here is carrot, you can add any other you particularly like or that you feel the need for in that particular moment. For example, when I want to give a boost to my immune system, I add one dried shiitake mushroom per person. Celery also works well, and so do daikon and cabbage.
Spiced Lentil and Carrot Soup
The easy and quick recipe for our spiced lentil and carrot soup.
Equipment
- 1 Large pot
- 1 Kitchen knife
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 4 or 5 carrots
- 300 gr dried lentils
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp curcuma
- 1 or 2 bay leaves
- parsley
- rosemary
- fennel fronds or dill optional
- salt to taste
- black pepper optional
- fresh lemon optional
Instructions
- Soak the lentils for at least 6 to 8 hours.
- Roughly chop the carrots into cubes.
- Finely chop onion and garlic.
- Heat the oil, add the garlic and onion and let them caramelize on medium to high fire stirring often and paying attention not to burn them.
- Once caramelized, add the spices and keep stirring for a minute.
- Add the carrots and stir for a minute or two until all the ingredients are well coated.
- Wash and add the lentils, stir briefly to mix all the ingredients, and cover with water for about one finger.
- Add the salt and all the herbs (bay leaf, rosemary, parsley, and fennel fronds), cover with the lid, and cook over low fire for about half an hour or until the lentils are cooked and the soup looks nice and smooth.
- Serve with a grain, a sprinkle of black pepper, and squeeze a bit of fresh lemon.
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