Red Lentil Soup with Lemon

If you are a follower of my blog you will already know I love a good soup and this one is a winner. It is light and bright from the lemon, not earthy like most lentil soups are. Here I have cooked it in the electric pressure cooker but if you don’t have one you can simply simmer it on the stove for 30 minutes but making sure to add two cups of water to make up for the evaporation that will happen. Recipe is adapted from Melissa Clark’s “Dinner in an Instant” and serves 2 – 4.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• A pinch of chilli, flakes or powder or mexican chilli
• 1 litre vegetable ot chicken stock
• 1 large tomato chopped (or 1 1/2 small)
• 1 cup dried red lentils
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon, plus more for serving

Directions

Using the saute function, heat the 2 tbsp olive oil in the pressure cooker. When it is hot, stir in the onion and saute until golden.

Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, cumin, a big pinch of salt, turmeric, a good grinding of pepper and chilli powder. Cook until fragrant about 2 minutes.

Add the stock, tomatoes and lentils.

Cover and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then release the remaining pressure manually.

Stir in the lemon juice, adding more to taste, along with more salt and pepper if needed. Thin with a little water if the soup is too thick.

Serve in bowls with additional lemon, coriander leaves, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Crusty bread on the side is totally optional. This soup isn’t spicy from the chilli so if you want it spicy either up the chilli or serve with a squirt or 2 of hot sauce. It has been a wet old weekend in Melbourne just the kind of weather for a bowl of soup. Enjoy. Sheryl x