Lentil soup. It takes me back to when I travelled through Turkey. My friend and I were on a backpacker’s budget so we’d quite often find ourselves eating a bowl of this soup at cafés along the way. It was nourishing and utterly delicious, I always had to resist from ordering more.
I’ve been making this recipe for years, it’s quick to do and the kids love it (even as babies) with the lentils making it thick enough for most of it to not miss their little mouths. While it’s perfect for a cold winter’s day, I happily enjoyed this in the heat of the Mediterranean Turkish summer.
Ingredients
Olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 ½ cups of red lentils
3 cups vegetable stock
4 cups water
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
2 cups of chopped English spinach
Sea salt & cracked pepper
Natural yogurt & fresh coriander to garnish
Method
Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, cumin and ground coriander and cook for 6 minutes until onion is soft. Add rinsed lentils, stock, water, lemon rind and bring to the boil. Cover and allow to simmer for 15 minutes or until the lentils are soft and almost combined with the liquid. Add spinach, stir and leave the lid on for a couple of minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls with a dollop of natural yoghurt and sprinkle of fresh coriander. Serve with toasted Turkish or crusty bread.
This is adapted from a recipe Donna Hay’s Modern Classics cookbook. Like so many of her books, this is a great one for the shelf with loads of simple and tasty meals.
I’m in the throws of school holidays at the moment so you may have noticed that I’m posting just twice a week during this time. I’ll be back with another post on Wednesday.
Enjoy the soup!
Mel xx
15 Comments
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I’ve been cooking a lot with lentils lately, so I am going to add this to my list of dishes to try. The use of lemon and spinach just sounds so lovely. Thanks for sharing this recipe and your photo is styled so nicely :) xD
Thanks Doris, this is definitely a winner and completely fine for summer. xx
Oh Mel, this soup looks lovely! I am always looking for new ways to make lentil soup and this couldn’t come at a more perfect time! Even though it is 108 degrees here today I am still making soup! Thank you xx
Thanks Jocelyn. Have a beautiful day, I have to say that I’m envious of your hot weather. xx
I love soup – I made white bean soup last night…this sounds delicious too Mel!
ooh white bean soup sounds so good too! Mel xx
I love lentil soup, and so does my little Dottie, I’ll have to try your recipe with the addition of lemon, it sounds delicious! Xx
This is super and your pic wonderful.
I’ve been craving soup all week so yesterday I finally made a Tina’s concoction. I put in tons of stuff, including red lentils:-)
One of my favourite soups is red lentils and celery with lemon juice.
I’m a big soup lover so make up my own recipes. The key for me is fresh stock. Everything else follows.
Happy weekend Mel x
Oh I agree, fresh stock will always make a soup. I love raiding the fridge and and making a soup with what I have, never fails. Celery, lentils and lemon sounds great. I have all ingredients at the moment too! xx
Had a go at it this week end. Everyone loved it, thanks Mel.
Oh cool, so glad! Thanks for letting me know. Mel xx
I promise I will try this one. A few years ago, I did an ayurveda cure in Sri Lanka and we had every single day red lentils. I used to cook them in coconut milk once home. After some time I lost the habit and until today I have not done anything again with red lentils. It’s good to have a new reminder. It’s a bit hot for it now but I’ll try it after the summer. Happy weekend, Mel!
Really? Wow did you feel amazing after the cure? How long did you do it for? I often use red lentils when whipping up a quick veggie curry, love this staple. Enjoy the warm weather xx
It is so good! Definitely on my ‘comfort food’ list. My husband made it (without the spinach and yoghurt) only last Sunday. Also inspired by his trip to Turkey. Now I want it again ;)
Oh good, so I’m not the only one having this in the summer months! Happy Friday Yvonne xx