Lentil Curry Soup

One of our favorite restaurants, Cafe Sprout, has a spicy red curry soup that we love -- with chickpeas, tomatoes, carrots, celery, onion, red lentils, and quinoa. Isa also has a Sweet Potato and Red Curry Soup that looks good. So I made up a recipe that pulls from both. Larry said it was fantastic! (Originally posted September 2015; updated February 2020 to be even better :)

Ingredients

1T canola oil
1 small hot pepper (like serrano), diced
1 medium onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped
1 medium potato, chopped
2-3 cups cauliflower, chopped

1 can diced tomatoes (or 2 cans if big batch)

6 cups vegetable broth

1 lb (16 oz) dried red lentils, washed
1/2 C quinoa (dry, uncooked)

1 can or 2 cups chickpeas, cooked
1/2 to 1 can lite coconut milk
3T fresh lime juice

Spices:
2 tsp cumin seeds (or ground & add w/other spices)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T fresh ginger, minced
1 T curry powder
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Saute cumin seeds and diced pepper in canola oil for 30 seconds. Add chopped onion, carrots, celery, and potatoes, and saute for 5 minutes or so, until onions are translucent. Add the rest of the spices and stir 1 minute. Add tomatoes, broth, dry red lentils, and dry quinoa. Bring to a boil. Lower heat, add cooked chickpeas, and simmer 20 minutes. Add coconut milk and lime juice. Serve.



yum!






















How it looks if you add potatoes but no quinoa or coconut milk: