RED LENTIL SOUP WITH LEMON-MINT YOGURT

Red Lentil Soup with Lemon-Mint Yogurt image

This soup is easy to get excited about as it is delicious, satisfying, comforting, and beautiful--but it's also, thanks to the lentils, kinda meaty. When you're eating this, it really doesn't seem like a vegetable-based soup. Garnish with thinly sliced mint.

Provided by Chef John

Categories Soups, Stews and Chili Recipes Soup Recipes Beans and Peas Lentil Soup Recipes

Time 1h

Yield 4

Number Of Ingredients 16

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Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste
3 tablespoons tomato paste, or more to taste
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons ground cumin
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 quart chicken broth
1 cup red lentils
1 rib celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
6 leaves fresh mint, thinly sliced
1 pinch salt
½ teaspoon lemon zest
½ lemon, juiced
3 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt, or more to taste

Steps:

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, salt, and tomato paste. Cook, stirring often, until the onion softens and the tomato paste turns a deep brick red or brown color, 5 to 7 minutes.
Add garlic, cumin, and cayenne; cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes. Stir in the broth and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the lentils, celery, and carrots.
Stir and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils and vegetables are very tender, 30 to 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, grind the mint and salt into a paste using a mortar and pestle. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and yogurt, and stir together until combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Taste the soup and adjust seasoning as needed. Serve as-is or use an immersion blender to puree about half of the soup to achieve a creamier texture. Serve hot with spoonfuls of the lemon-mint yogurt.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 293.9 calories, Carbohydrate 41.2 g, Cholesterol 22.4 mg, Fat 8.2 g, Fiber 17.4 g, Protein 15.8 g, SaturatedFat 4.3 g, Sodium 1654.2 mg, Sugar 6.6 g