Having never cooked with red lentils before, I was very pleased with my latest experiment with a recipe from Everybody Likes Sandwiches. The soup has the perfect amount of spice and the lentils make it deliciously thick. After discovering that I was short on some of the appropriate spices, I substituted 1 teaspoon of Mexican chipotle powder for the 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder and 1/2 teaspoon Mexican chili powder called for in the recipe. And now I’ll have a healthy lunch for the rest of the week!

red lentil soup with lemon
2 T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 T tomato paste
2 t ground cumin
1/4 t kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 t mexican chipotle powder
4 c vegetable broth
1 c red lentils
1 large carrot, peeled into shreds
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil in a large heavy pot and saute garlic and onions until wilty. Stir in tomato paste, cumin, salt, pepper, cayenne and chili powder until fragrant. Pour in broth, red lentils and carrots. Simmer until lentils and carrots are tender, about 20 minutes. Add lemon juice and parsley and serve in deep bowls.