A thick, forgiving pot of red lentils and brown rice that all but cooks itself. Salt it well at the end, crown each bowl with almonds and olives, and serve with crusty bread.
Red Lentil Soup
A humble, comforting soup where red lentils melt into a thick, savory base over tender brown rice.
Servings 6
Ingredients
For the soup
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 shallots, chopped (or 6 green onions)
- 1/2 tsp red-pepper flakes
- 6 cups good-tasting vegetable stock (or water)
- 1 1/3 cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed
- 1/2 cup brown rice, picked over and rinsed
- to taste fine grain sea salt
Topping suggestions
- slivered almonds, toasted
- black oil cured olives, chopped
- avocado, sliced
Method
- In a big soup pot over medium heat, combine the olive oil, onion, shallots, and red pepper flakes. Let them brown and caramelize a bit, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the broth and bring to a boil, then stir in the lentils and rice. Simmer for about 30 minutes, until the rice is very tender and the lentils have collapsed into a thick soup.
- If you need to add more water or broth at any point, do so a splash at a time until the soup thins to the consistency you prefer.
- Unless you used a salty broth, salt generously until the soup no longer tastes flat.
- Serve each bowl topped with almonds, olives, and a slight drizzle of olive oil if you like. Excellent with a crusty bread.
To keep it strict (oil-free)
Brown the onion and shallots in a splash of the vegetable stock instead of the oil, and skip the finishing drizzle, to keep a strict fast.