Red Lentil Soup with Lemon-Mint Yogurt

This soup is easy to get excited about as it is delicious, satisfying, comforting, and beautiful--but it's also, thanks to the lentils, kinda meaty. When you're eating this, it really doesn't seem like a vegetable-based soup. Garnish with thinly sliced mint.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 60 mins
• Calories: 294 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• ½ teaspoon lemon zest
• ½ lemon, juiced
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 cup red lentils
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 quart chicken broth
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1 rib celery, diced
• 3 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt, or more to taste
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste, or more to taste
• 6 leaves fresh mint, thinly sliced

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, salt, and tomato paste. Cook, stirring often, until the onion softens and the tomato paste turns a deep brick red or brown color, 5 to 7 minutes.

Step 2

Add garlic, cumin, and cayenne; cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes. Stir in the broth and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the lentils, celery, and carrots.

Step 3

Stir and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils and vegetables are very tender, 30 to 40 minutes.

Step 4

Meanwhile, grind the mint and salt into a paste using a mortar and pestle. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and yogurt, and stir together until combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Step 5

Taste the soup and adjust seasoning as needed. Serve as-is or use an immersion blender to puree about half of the soup to achieve a creamier texture. Serve hot with spoonfuls of the lemon-mint yogurt.