Lemon Lentil Soup (Print View)

Hearty Mediterranean lentil soup with fresh vegetables and a bright, zesty lemon finish. Comforting and nourishing.

# Ingredient List:

→ Vegetables

01 - 1 medium onion, finely chopped
02 - 2 medium carrots, diced
03 - 2 celery stalks, diced
04 - 3 garlic cloves, minced

→ Lentils

05 - 1 cup dried brown or green lentils, rinsed and picked over

→ Liquids

06 - 6 cups vegetable broth

→ Seasonings

07 - 1 teaspoon ground cumin
08 - ½ teaspoon ground coriander
09 - ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
10 - ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
11 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

→ Finish

12 - Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
13 - 2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (plus extra for garnish)
14 - 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

# How to Make:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, and sauté for about 5 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften and the onion turns translucent.
02 - Stir in the minced garlic, ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute until fragrant.
03 - Add the rinsed lentils and pour in the vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the lentils are fully tender.
04 - Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and chopped parsley. Season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
05 - For a creamier consistency, partially blend the soup using an immersion blender, leaving some lentils and vegetables intact for texture.
06 - Ladle the hot soup into bowls. Garnish with additional fresh parsley and an extra squeeze of lemon juice if desired. Serve immediately.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The lemon transforms what could be a plain lentil soup into something that tastes like sunshine in a bowl, and you will wonder why you never thought of it before.
  • Everything cooks in one pot and the ingredient list is honestly stuff you probably already have hanging around your kitchen right now.
  • It freezes beautifully, so make a double batch and thank yourself on some exhausted Tuesday three weeks from now.
02 -
  • Add the lemon juice off the heat or at the very end because prolonged boiling can make it taste bitter instead of bright.
  • Rinse your lentils under cold water and pick through them for tiny stones, I learned this the hard way once and it was not a pleasant crunch.
  • Salt at the end rather than the beginning, lentils cooked in already salted liquid can toughen up and take forever to soften.
03 -
  • Toast the cumin and coriander in the dry pot for thirty seconds before adding the oil for an even deeper flavor that makes people ask what your secret is.
  • A strip of lemon peel simmered in the broth and removed before serving adds a perfumed complexity that juice alone cannot achieve.

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