I had some red lentils left from when I made a stew and seeing as we don't exactly have a pantry, similar to how we don't have a laundry room, I needed to use them up. Our 'pantry' is really just a cabinet and our 'laundry room' is a closet where the washer and dryer are housed. I'm not complaining though- life without a washer and dryer is a rough one and one I once led.
Apparently Martha Stewart knew my pantry situation as she decided to feature a bunch of recipes with red lentils in her magazine the other month. I was happy to come across them at my Mom's and then tear the recipes out as I knew my Mom wasn't rushing out to make curried red lentil soup.
The soup came together quite quickly and I think aided us in this time of runny noses. I was happy to toss in all the fresh ginger, garlic, and curry knowing they were great for us in the world of health. Specifically how I'm not sure but I know Daphne Oz would approve.
{Recipe thanks to and adapted from Martha Stewart}
{Ingredients You'll Need}
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons chopped and peeled fresh ginger
- 6 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 large shallot, chopped
- 2 carrots, diced
- coarse salt
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 cup red lentils
- chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
- Heat the oil in a saucepan then add the ginger, garlic, shallot, and carrots and cook for about 7 minutes until their softened. Add the curry powder and cook for just a minute more.
- Add 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt, 1/2 cup coconut milk, 4 cups water, and the lentils then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 8-10 minutes so the lentils can cook and the carrots can get tender.
- Pour 2-4 ladels of the soup through a sieve, reserving the solids. Pour the liquid back into the pot and blend it with an immersion blender. Once it's the consistency you like return the solids back to the soup.
- Stir in the remaining coconut milk and top with cilantro!
I think I might be buying some unsweetened coconut milk (special ingredient around these parts) to make this and use up our red lentils too! Wish it was a slow cooker though - I'm not so reliable at cooking anything otherwise. But this sounds too good to pass up.
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