You’re going to love this winter-wonderful, satisfying soup! It’s a meal in itself. And it’s not only an update to your usual Tomato Soup. It’s a perfect example of how to adapt your ‘conventional’ recipes to the coming, plant-based food future!
Beautiful Tomato Lentil Soup – with a drizzle of cream and a handful of croutons!
What I immediately realized when I read the ingredients list for this thick, hearty, flavourful soup was, it could be easily adapted to any classic cuisine with the addition of the right herbs and spice, and optional additions….
What you need
This recipe looks long and complicated, when you first read the ingredients list. But it’s not, really. It’s basically lentils, tomatoes, a couple of aromatic root veggies and broth…
- 250 mL (1 cup) of red lentils,
- 15 mL (1 tablespoon) of butter, 15 mL (1 tablespoon) of olive oil,
- 3 garlic cloves,
- 1 large carrot,
- 1 onion,
- 1 L (4 cups) of vegetable broth,
- 500 mL (2 cups) of fresh tomato pulp,
- tomato paste to taste,
- a small piece of chilli pepper (optional)
- 1 teaspoon of cumin,
- salt, pepper, sugar to taste,
- parsley or cilantro for serving.
Tips:
You really, REALLY don’t want any tomato skins or seeds in this dish. So go ahead and use canned crushed tomatoes without feeling the slightest tinge of guilt or shame.
DO add the sugar as specified. You’ll definitely want it, to take the bitter edge off the strong tomato flavour – and develop a nice umami undertone…
You can whiz a portion of this soup in a bar/smoothie blender to make it even creamier, and marry the flavours even more intimately…
What you do
Its innate simplicity is revealed in that there are only 3 steps in the prep instructions…
- Melt the butter in a pot and add a little olive oil. Add the chopped onion, garlic, and peeled and grated carrot. Sauté until the vegetables are brown.
- Add the tomato pulp and bring to a boil. Pour in the vegetable broth, and add the lentils, chilli pepper, tomato concentrate, and spices.
- Cook covered for about an hour. Season to taste at the end. If you like cream soups, blend the soup.
What you get
… Is a delightful, creamy, piquant, well-balanced soup that will remind you, in texture at least, of a perfect split-pea or chick pea soup. And perhaps the best part is, you can make many different ver-sions to suit your taste or craving of the moment by varying the inclusions and flavourings.
You could even add meat, but that would defeat the purpose of showcasing this classic, ancient, veggie preparation/presentation.
Serve with fresh baguette, soft bread sticks or other dippable breads.
My take
As author Dorota Gepert points out, this is an Eastern European lentil soup, rather than an Indian- nor Asian-style concoction. But you could just as easily add a teaspoon of curry powder to make it Asian.
You could also toss in handful of your fave short pasta to offer, in company with the Lentils, a com-plete dietary protein. Voilà! A great one-pot cold-weather lunch or supper.
We’ll be bringing you more plant-based classic presentations as time goes by… Stay tuned!
~ Maggie J.