Egyptian Lentil Soup

This picture does not do this soup justice. Seriously, I can drink buckets of this stuff (well, almost). When I lived in Washington, DC,  and before I learnt how to make this soup, I used to freeze a stock of it and fly it with me all the way across the Atlantic (yup, it is that good, and yes, I know it would have been easier for me to just learn how to make it).

This lentil soup is a very typical Egyptian recipe.  It is super nutritious and is the ultimate comfort food.  When its freezing outside this soup can serve as fuel when all you want to do is sleep until springtime. 

Ingredients:

1 carrot
1 potato
1 tomato
1 1/4 cup red lentils
2 small onions
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp tsp butter
1 cube vegetable bullion (optional)

Begin by chopping the carrot, potato, garlic, onion and tomato.  Put them into a large saucepan.

Wash the lentils, and then add them to the same saucepan with the veggies.  Add 4 cups of water and the butter.

Put the saucepan on the stove on medium heat and bring to a boil.  Allow the ingredients to cook for about 20-25 minutes (it depends on how small you chopped them).

Once the vegetables and lentils are thoroughly cooked turn off the stove and leave them alone until the soup has COMPLETELY COOLED.  Once the soup has cooled, add it to a blender along with the bullion (optional), cumin, salt, and pepper.  Blend until it reaches a smooth consistency. 

Transfer the ingredients back into the saucepan and add 2 cups of water (more or less depending on how watery you want your soup to be).  Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.

We typically serve this soup with a lemon wedge (lemon juice makes it even more delicious) and with baked pieces of pita bread.

I hope you enjoy this recipe -- its one of my favorites :)

This soup freezes well (hence why I was able to fly it halfway across the world), so feel free to double the recipe and save it for a cold day.

Serves 4