Spicy carrot and lentil soup

Hi friends!

If you haven’t been keeping up with the weather in DC, here’s what we got a few nights ago:

SNOW! In the middle of March.  It’s depressing.

^^^ Alex and I taking shelter under a bus stop as we desperately searched for a cab after the Ellie Goulding concert <——-which, by the way, was amazing.

But, there’s one good thing about the cold, dreary weather (okay, two if you include cappuccinos): soup!

I’ve been on a soup kick the past few weeks.  Each time I decide to try a new recipe,  chaos ensues for this amateur cook [okay, that might be a slight exaggeration.]  The last time I made soup, I put in an entire box of orzo thinking, ‘these guys are small, I’ll just add the whole thing.’  Fifteen minutes later, the orzo had sucked up every last bit of broth.  Oops.

This time around, I decided to use up the remaining carrots I had from the giantic bag I purchased for juicing.  I adapted this recipe (leave it to me to choose a British recipe) and converted the measurements to our good ‘ole English measurement system.

The best part about this recipe?  It’s easy and quick.

The soup is ‘creamy’ without any actual cream in it, and also has a unique taste from the cumin and red pepper flakes.  I topped it with a little greek yogurt to finish.  Wonderful – especially in this cold weather!

Spicy Carrot & Lentil Soup (Makes 6-8 servings)

Ingredients:

•  10-12 large carrots (peeled and chopped into small pieces)
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 1 L vegetable broth
• 1 cup dry lentils (subsequently cooked)

Instructions:

1.  Cook 1 cup lentils (will take about 15 minutes)
2. In the meantime, peel the carrots and cut into 1-inch pieces
3. In a large saucepan, dry cook the cumin seeds and red pepper flakes (10 seconds) and set aside
4. Once the lentils are cooked, add the carrots, lentils, vegetable broth, milk and olive oil to the saucepan with the cumin seeds and red pepper flakes
5. Bring the saucepan to a boil, and then simmer for 15 minutes (or until carrots are soft)
6. Using a food processor (or immersion blender, for a more ‘chunky’ soup) mix everything together
7. Top with greek yogurt before serving

Side note for other amateur cooks: I almost choked myself on the fumes of the dry cooked cumin seeds.  WOWZERS are those things potent! Be careful!

I promise, this recipe will leave you and your guests looking like this :

 

Happy Wednesday, all!