Ingredients
- 6 cups vegetable stock (or 3 veggie stock cubes + 6 cups water)
- 3-4 medium onions, chopped roughly
- 4-6 medium carrots; half chopped roughly, half grated
- 2 cups red split lentils
- 4-6 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp baking soda (for soaking lentils)
Optional ingredients
- 1 tbsp prepared Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika
Lentil Preparation
- Rinse and drain lentils at least three times: they should no longer clump, and rinse water should not be very cloudy
- Soak lentils in water with baking soda for at least an hour, occasionally stirring gently
- Rinse lentils and soak for at least an hour in clean water; drain.
Method
- Bring stock to a boil in a large pot. Add grated/chopped carrots and half the olive oil
- Fry onions in the rest of the olive oil until translucent, optionally with paprika
- Add fried onions to soup pot. Stir in Dijon mustard, if desired
- Cover and allow to low boil for 5-10 minutes
- Stir in drained lentils, and bring to a robust simmer
- Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Serve and season to taste.
Notes
- This is based on my parents’ various lentil soup recipes from Scotland. They might use a ham or lamb-bone based stock
- Until recently, I’d been overcooking the lentils. Red split lentils are quite delicate, and soaking and lightly simmering gives a pleasing result
- The soaking in baking soda stage helps to de-gas the lentils