Coconut Curry Red Lentil Soup

Whenever I talk to someone about shopping in bulk, I always start with lentils. Good protein, easy to cook, and are a staple in my kitchen. This recipe was made on a very snowy evening when I couldn’t leave the house to grab extra ingredients but the base/recipe I adapted from was Heidi’s Coconut Red Lentil Soup. 

Coconut Curry Red Lentil Soup

 

Food Bank

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

Serves: 3-4

• 1 cup red lentils
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 small sweet potato, peeled and 1/4" cubed
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoon good-quality curry powder
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4-6 scallions, diced
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 14 oz can whole-fat coconut milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Cooked brown rice, for serving

1. In a large stockpot combine lentils and water, bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add the sweet potato, carrot, and half the ginger. Continue to simmer until sweet potato is almost tender.
2. In a small skillet, add curry powder and toast until fragrant. Remove from skillet once toasted. Return skillet to stove and add olive oil. Next, stir in remaining ginger and half the green onions to skillet over medium low heat. Sauté until onions are softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add tomato paste and continue to cook for 1 to 2 more minutes. Finally, stir in toasted curry powder and stir, making sure everything is mixed well.
3. Add the tomato paste mixture along with the coconut milk to the lentil base. Stir and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. I served this soup more as a hearty thick stew so you may need to play with the consistency by adding more water.
4. Serve over brown rice if desired.

Notes

+ Lightly Adapted from 101 Cookbooks.

Variations for the Red Lentil Soup

This soup is so straight forward that it’s easy to work with what you may or may not have- the key is to start with good curry powder. The rest is up to the lentils and coconut milk. However, there are a couple changes I make:

Greens: I’ll add in spinach at the last minute for an extra pop of color and vegetables. A couple handfuls of baby spinach wilt nicely into the lentils.

Grains: I’m not too picky about the grains I serve with this soup. Sometimes it’s rice but other times it’s quinoa or even millet.