Red Lentil and Carrot Soup with Lemon
- Savory
- Mediterranean
- Stovetop
- Oven
A hearty, chunky lentil soup built on softened onion and carrot, finished with fresh lemon juice and zest so each bowl tastes bright rather than heavy.
- Total
- 48 min
- Prep 10 · Cook 38
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Sweating · Blooming spices
Instructions
-
Peel and finely chop the onion. Peel the carrots and cut them into 1 cm dice. Zest the lemon into a small bowl, then juice it and set both aside.
~10 min
Zesting before juicing lets you capture the aromatic oils in the peel, which are lost once the lemon is cut and squeezed.
-
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and translucent and the carrots begin to soften, about 8 minutes.
~8 min
Sweating over medium heat softens the vegetables and releases their sweetness without browning, which keeps the soup's flavor clean and mild.
Sweating Keep the heat at medium and stir occasionally; the vegetables should soften and glisten without browning, so lower the heat if they start to color.
-
Stir in the cumin and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the red lentils, 1000 ml vegetable stock, salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, partly covered, until the lentils are tender and breaking down, 20 to 25 minutes.
~25 min
Briefly heating the cumin in hot oil blooms its fat-soluble aromas, while a gentle simmer keeps the lentils from scorching on the pot bottom.
Blooming spices Stir the cumin into the hot oil for just 30 seconds, until it smells fragrant; any longer and it can turn bitter or burn.
-
Mash about a third of the soup against the side of the pot with the back of a spoon to thicken it, leaving the rest chunky. If it looks too thick, stir in 100 ml vegetable stock.
~2 min
Mashing some of the lentils releases their starch, giving body and a creamy texture while leaving the rest intact for bite.
The lentils keep thickening as they sit, so serve the soup a little looser than you want it; a splash of hot vegetable stock loosens leftovers.
-
Take the pot off the heat and stir in the lemon zest and 2 tbsp lemon juice. Taste and add a little more salt or lemon juice if needed, then ladle into bowls.
~3 min
Adding lemon off the heat preserves its bright, volatile aromas, and the acid sharpens the soup's flavors so it tastes less heavy.
