Cookies Preferences
This recipe was shared with me by Chef Samer who I worked with at Green Junkie in Beirut. I needed help! You see, the first year my husband fasted for Ramadan, his mother was staying with us and she instructed that I must make a lentil soup for Iftar (the meal after the sun sets). I went about making what I thought was the perfect lentil soup…but apparently I was wrong. All she said was that this wasn’t like the one they made.This is (apparently) like the one they make. But my husband says it’s extra special, extra delicious. I believe it’s the addition of the beetroot and the heavy use of cumin and garlic powder. Unlike my version which used green lentils and kept the vegetables whole, this uses split red lentils which you then blitz into a fine puree.Because I couldn’t leave well enough alone, I have concocted a little relish, let’s call it, to garnish the soup with. By all means enjoy the soup on its own, but if you’re serving it to guests and want something a little special, please try it. The ingredients just reinforce and brighten the flavors that exist in the soup…something I believe the best garnishes do. Ramadan Mubarak friends!
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 potato, peeled and rough chopped
1 onion, peeled and rough chopped
1 small beet, peeled and rough chopped
500g red split lentils
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2.5 L of vegetable stock
for the relish:
1/4 cup fried onions, roughly chopped
1/4 cup coriander, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons pistachio dukkha
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
4 dates, pitted and finely chopped
zest of one lemon
To make the soup, heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot and add the chopped vegetables stirring them and cooking until they’re starting to soften. Now add the lentils and spices, incorporating them well before pouring in the vegetable stock. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes before blending to a smooth puree using an immersion blender or conventional blender.
To make the relish just mix all of the items together in a bowl. To serve spoon a bit of the relish into the middle of the soup bowl with the lentil soup.
