Turkish Red Lentil Soup

This recipe was given to me by my friend, Denise, whose reputation as a superior cook was confirmed by this tasty and easy soup.   Thanks Denise!  And yes, even though the temperatures have warmed somewhat here in Duluth, many chilly days persist and a warm soup still tastes great. 

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons coconut oil (original recipe used olive oil)
1 red onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup red lentils
2 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes
6 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Greek style yogurt (not included in nutritional analysis)

Preparation:
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and carrots and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, cumin, coriander, and ginger and cook, stirring, for one minute. ** Add tomato paste, lentils, tomatoes, stock, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to medium. Simmer for 30 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a blender in batches and process until smooth or use a VitaMix or use stick blender to puree right in the pan. Serve in individual bowls topped with a dollop of yogurt. 

If you want to make this in a slow cooker, follow the steps until the asterisk above. Place the spices/onion/carrot mixture into the crock pot and add the tomato paste, lentils, tomatoes, stock, salt and pepper,  and set crock pot to low. After 6 - 8 hours, transfer to a blender or use an immersion blender right in the pot to puree the soup until smooth. Serve with a dollop of yogurt as listed above.


Nutrition per serving:
Servings per recipe: 9
Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 159
Total Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 637 mg
Total Carbs: 25 g
Dietary Fiber: 10 g
Protein: 8 g