Ethiopian-Inspired Red Lentil Soup
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I've been busy lately, working on several projects at once and preparing for the holidays, and I haven't had much time to develop new recipes. So this weekend I decided to adapt an old favorite, Berberé Stew, and turn it into a lentil and vegetable soup. I'm a big fan of "meal in a bowl" type dishes that cover all the bases—vegetable, starch, and protein all-in-one—and this one fits the bill. It's also quick, another plus in these hurried times.This is a very complex and exotic tasting soup that gets its distinctive flavor from an equal amount of 11 different spices so that no one flavor predominates. I keep a jar full of the spice mixture, but if you don't want to mix up a big batch, just start with 1/8 teaspoon of whichever of the spices you have and add more to taste. Try to keep the measurements equal, though, so that the flavors balance out.
Ethiopian-Inspired Red Lentil Soup
1 large onion, chopped
1 pound potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 + 1/4 cup red lentils (picked over and rinsed)
3 cups water
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2-3 tablespoons berberé spice mixture, below
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 pound green beans, fresh or frozen, cut into bite-sized pieces
1-2 cups water
salt to taste
3-4 cups fresh spinach
Berberé Spice Mixture (mix all together and store in jar):
1 Tbs. ground cardamom
1 Tbs. ground coriander
1 Tbs. fenugreek
1 Tbs. ground nutmeg
1 Tbs. ground cloves
1 Tbs. ground allspice
1 Tbs. cinnamon
1 Tbs. paprika
1 Tbs. turmeric
1 tsp. cayenne (use more to taste)
1 Tbs. ground black pepper
1 Tbs. ground sea salt (optional)
Sauté the onion in a non-stick pan until it starts to brown. Add the potatoes, lentils, 3 cups water, garlic, and spice mixture. Simmer, covered, over low heat until lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Add the tomatoes, green beans, and enough additional water to create a thick soup. Check the seasoning, adding salt and more of the spice mixture if needed, and cook for about 15 more minutes. Just before serving, stir in the spinach. Serve immediately. Makes 6-8 servings.
Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live
Labels: eat to live, gluten-free
posted by SusanV at 9:37 AM
35 Comments:
This looks delicious especially with some crusty french baguette to soak up the stew!Mmmm :)
paati
Susan! This is everything (and more) that I've been searching for. Looks and sounds delish, can't wait to try it.
I'm a huge fan of meals in one bowl too.
What can I say? I love lentils, I love Moroccan spices (your blend sounds so lovely), I love soups, I have to make this! I'll probably have to use regular lentils though.
WOW that sounds great!
I'm only missing the fenugreek !
I will try it for sure. I love this type of meal so much !
this sound truly good, cant wait to try it.
Full meals in a bowl are definitely the way to go, (especially when you're in college and don't have time to make multiple things). You conquered this perfectly with this dish.
Oh and I'm excited to make this spice mixure. It sounds perfect!
-Teresa
yum! that looks great! I love Ethiopian food! You remind me I still need to make Injera!
Just wondering ... how is the spinach in the soup if you have it the next day (or 2 days later) as leftovers? I've never made a soup with spinach in it because I'm afraid it'll be yucky the next day.
So, what's the word on leftovers?
Hi Maya~~I don't really mind the consistency of the spinach the next day. Spinach gets really limp as soon as it hits the hot soup, and it doesn't seem to change much over time. My husband and I ate the leftovers over two or three days, and they tasted great to us.
Great - then I will try it!
Can't hurt to try, right?
:-)
So up my alley! I love recipes with more spices than other ingrediants :)
I am making this today, though, I am using french green lentils becuase whole foods was completely out of red ones. BOOOO. Oh well, it should still be good...ya?
Remind me never to go shopping on a Sunday night after a holiday weekend.
I just made the stew for dinner, which I enjoyed. The potatoes were not soft, so I had to continue simmering (which turned the lentils to mush), but I still really enjoyed it. It reminded me of an Indian chili. The hubby didn't care for it, but I was impressed he at least tried it. I couldn't find fenugreek
in the store, so I went without it. Overall, a keeper for me...but I will definitely be adding mushrooms next time around! :)
This was absolutely delicious! We made it for dinner tonight. Left out the fenugreek powder and cinnamon, but added 1/2 tsp of all the other spices (was tastily spicy!). Didn't have green beans and spinach, but added celery, mushrooms, and carrots instead. We also subbed sweet potatoes for the white potatoes (sorry for all the substitutions ;), we were just using what we had on hand). It's definitely a keeper! Thanks so much for the recipe.
I was thinking sweet potatoes would probably be good, since the soup is sort of "smoky sweet." I think I'll try this the next time around... :)
I made the Ethiopian-Inspired Red Lentil Soup last night. It was fantastic! I used cyanne peper so it really had a kick. I recomend it with yogurt.
I am a fan of soups too. This one is looking delicious. And fatfree sounds good to me.
I accidentally bought canned fire roasted diced tomatoes instead of crushed ones - do you think I can use them in this recipe if I food processor them first? This soup sounds so warming for the freezing cold week I have ahead of me in Boston and I adore Ethiopian food!
I'm sure fire-roasted diced tomatoes will be great in this, M. I wouldn't even bother processing them. I hope you find it as tasty and warming as I do.
I used diced tomatoes instead of crushed and it was fine. I've had leftover soup for 3 additional meals and even today (4 days after I made the soup), the spinach was just as good. And it is the perfect thing for the cold Boston days we're having now.
I ended up making the soup with the diced tomatoes but now it's thin. I think I would like it much more if it were thicker (more like the split peas with sweet potatoes and kale soup, which I love). What's a good way to thicken it? Puree it (my hand blender arrives tomorrow!)? Add more potatoes? I made it in the crockpot and used kale instead of spinach and half the green beans if that makes a difference. Right now I left it on high with the cover off to try to reduce. Thanks! ~M (blogger won't let me sign in)
M, if you have a regular blender, you could dip a little out and blend it. You could also add some more potatoes and/or mash some of the ones already in it. You could even add a little more red lentils, if you've got enough time to let them cook. I hope it works out!
Yum! Made this last night and it is fab. Really enjoy the spice mix, made the amount called for and now have extra for future recipes. This made enough for 10 lunch-size soups for me for work, I froze them in individual containers.
Only changes I made were to use only one potato and sub the rest with zucchini. I also used a half bunch of kale in place of the spinach because it is what I had. I think I would like it with the spinach, however, and will plan to make it that way for next time.
Thanks, as always!
Is the amount of spice supposed to be 2-3 Tbsp? or 2-3 tsp? We made this last night with collards instead of spinach. It was delicious, but it seemed like it could have used about 1/3 of the spice it had, so I'm wondering about the amount. Thanks!
I do use between 2 and 3 tablespoons, but it could be that I like things more strongly spiced. If you make it again (or if anyone else is concerned about the spiciness), just start with a couple of teaspoons and add more to taste.
I'm cooking the Ethiopian-Inspired Red Lentil Soup as I write. I had all the spices except fenugreek (plan to buy some for next time). Plan to substitue kale for the spinach. My kitchen is beginning to smell wonderful. Thanks so much for all your great recipes. I read your web site everyday to see what wonderful new idea you have for your readers.
I just tried this spice blend on my lentils tonight (along with some rice, kale, broccoli, onion, and garlic). Yum!
Hi I am so glad I found your site I think it's my favorite new thing! Well this dish sounded very appetizing so I made it last night, it was delicious!! I did leave out the green beans (didn't have any) and potato since I made brown rice, used american instead of red lentils, and I had all the spices except fenugreek and cardamom so I used caraway seed instead. It did still have a wonderful red color because I added lots of spice, used veggie stock, and of course the tomatoes. I also made some steamed broccoli and for the omnivores in my family I made salmon which i seasoned with the same spice mixture! and sauteed that in a skillet. They loved it and the lentils! Thank you so much for this and I hope to make some more of your wonderful dishes!
Honestly, did any one brew up this soup using 2-3 Tablespoons (it should be teaspoons) of the Berbere Spice mix. Doen't lie.
Otherwise, except for absence of some corriander & chicken (which Ethiopians, unlike LA vegans, value highly)stock - a great soup
Err, what? I used three tablespoons of the spice mix and it still wasn't too spicy at all.
Peter T also seems to have missed that the recipe _does_ include coriander.
I guess spicing is totally subjective. I'm with you, M. If I used 3 TEAspoons of the spice mix, I wouldn't even be able to taste it. 3 tablespoons is my usual amount, and I've been known to add more when my daughter isn't eating with us.
Mmmm... I've been meaning to make this recipe for a while and finally did! It's delicious with some dippy sides, pita and grape leaves. I also used kale.
I'm stumped though looking for other ways to use my leftover Berbere. Any ideas?
Thanks for another good recipe!
Shana
Shana, I think this would be delicious with sweet potatoes or even regular potatoes. Also, I have another recipe somewhere on this blog for Berbere Stew, which is like this soup only less soupy. I might also try the seasoning with some sauteed greens.
Please let me know of any discoveries you make!
I made this in my crock pot, and my entire house smells of the spices, as do my clothes, but such is life in a tiny house. It was worth it! I used about 5 big russet potatoes, closer to 2 or 3 cups of lentils, and 1/2 - 3/4 t. of each spice. The amount of water needed in my crock pot was probably close to ten cups, but the whole thing is really tasty. I just picked up some teff flour so I can make some injera to go with it.
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