Lemon and Lentil Soup

Another fiber rich recipe made from aromatics and lentils, coming from Gimme Some Oven with a small addition of coconut milk. A perfect addition to an air-fried whole chicken seasoned with a blend of greek seasonings.

One of the tips in the book I’ve been reading, is to make smoothies and soups that blend many ingredients (such as lentils, hemp, chia, or flax seeds) that you wouldn’t often eat by themselves into smoothies or soups. I am pretty sure this is my first-time cooking with lentils. I certainly didn’t grow up eating them. Lentils are a crop sourced mainly from Canada and India.

As someone from the Southern US, I would say they’re in-between a bean (hard shelled before cooking) and a pea (after cooking). Lentils are rich in fiber, folate, and potassium making them a great choice for managing blood pressure and cholesterol.

This soup also blends middle eastern flavors, I don’t typically cook with, but will certainly use again after this soup, curry, cumin, and saffron. And then of course, my favorite ingredient in any dish, lemon!

I hope you enjoy!

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Ingredients:

· 1 tablespoon olive oil

· 1 medium white onion, peeled and diced

· 2 medium carrots, diced

· 5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

· 6 cups chicken stock

· 1 1/2 cups lentils, rinsed

· 2/3 cup whole-kernel corn, fresh from cob or drained from can

· 2 teaspoons cumin

· 1 teaspoon curry powder

· (optional) pinch each of saffron and cayenne

· zest and juice of 1 lemon

· 1 cup coconut milk

· sea salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Dice your onion, carrots, and garlic

2. Heat tablespoon of EVOO in the pot planned for soup and sauté the onions and carrots for 5 minutes on medium heat, adding garlic in for one minute

3. Add chicken broth, corn, lentils, cumin, curry, saffron, and cayenne if using.

4. Bring soup to a simmer and then cover and cook for 15-minutes, or until lentils are soft (like a pea)

5. Blend ingredients. I pulsed several times, leaving a slightly chunky consistency, but you can blend to smooth

6. Pour back into pot and add lemon zest, lemon juice, and cup of coconut milk

7. Add sea salt and pepper to taste

8. Garnish with a lemon slice and pepper

9. Enjoy!