Name: Spicy Carrot Lentil Soup
Prep time: 19 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 1 tsp cumin seeds; 1 tsp coriander seeds; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 medium yellow onion (chopped); 1 tsp ground chillies or chili flakes ((I used Diaspora Co.’s ground Kashmiri chillies)); 2 cloves garlic (minced); 2 inch ginger (2-inch piece, peeled and minced); 1.5 lb carrots (scrubbed and chopped); null null sea salt (to taste); null null ground black pepper (to taste); 0.5 cup split red lentils (rinsed); 5 cups vegetable stock; 0.25 cup tahini; 1.5 tsp toasted sesame oil; 1 tsp tamari soy sauce; 2 tsp lemon or lime juice; null null chopped cilantro (.); null null chili oil (.); null null sesame seeds (.); null null ground black pepper (.); null null tahini (.)

Instructions

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1

Set a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds (1 tsp) and coriander seeds (1 tsp) to the pot and toast, stirring them up often. Toast the spices until very fragrant, about 45 seconds to a full minute. Dump the seeds out onto a small plate and allow them to cool completely before grinding up to a powder in a spice grinder. Set the ground spices aside.
2

Return the large soup pot to the stove over medium heat and pour in the olive oil (2 tbsp). Swirl the oil around a bit and then add the yellow onion (1 medium) to the pot and stir. The onions should be sizzling, but on the quieter end of sizzling. Lower the heat if necessary. Keep cooking the onions, stirring occasionally, until very soft and translucent (but not browning), about 7-8 minutes.
3

Add the ground cumin (1 tsp) and ground coriander (1 tsp) to the pot, along with the ground chillies or chili flakes (1 tsp) as well. Stir and cook along with the onions for one full minute. Then, add the garlic (2 cloves) and ginger (2 inch) to the pot and stir. Keep cooking until the garlic is very fragrant, about 1 minute.
4

Add the carrots (1.5 lbs) to the pot along with big pinches of [sea salt] and [ground black pepper]. Stir the carrots to coat them in the spices and sautéed onions. Then, add the split red lentils (0.5 cup) to the pot and stir once more. Finally, pour in the vegetable stock (5 cups) and give it a final stir.
5

Bring this broth-y carrot, lentil, and spice mixture to a boil and then lower your heat to a simmer. Simmer this mixture uncovered, stirring here and there, until the carrots are quite soft, about 30 minutes.
6

Carefully ladle the broth-y carrot, lentil, and spice mixture into the pitcher of an upright, vented blender. To this mixture, add the tahini (0.25 cup), toasted sesame oil (1.5 tsp), and tamari soy sauce (1 tsp). Close the lid on the pitcher and slowly bring the speed of the blender up to high. You may have to add a few splashes of [water] to get things moving. Blend until you have a completely smooth puree.
7

Pour the spicy sesame carrot soup back into the pot. At this point, you can leave it as-is or add some [water] to make the texture a bit more fluid. I personally like a bit of fluidity in pureed soups, so I added 2 cups of [water] at this point. Bring the soup up to a boil, stirring often. Stir in the lemon or lime juice (2 tsp).
8

Give the soup a taste at this point to see if you need to adjust some of the seasoning. Maybe it needs even more lemon/lime for your taste, some extra pepper etc. Adjust the seasoning to your liking and then serve! I topped mine with [chopped cilantro], drizzles of [tahini] and [chili oil], and [sesame seeds].