Mexican lentil soup
Chatelaine
* PLUS Cooking time: 40 minutes
Roberto Caruso
High in protein and fibre and under 200 calories. Hearty and delicious.
Ingredients
-
400-g bag
red or green
lentils
-
1
large
onion
-
2
red or green
bell peppers
-
4
carrots
-
2
celery stalks
-
3
jalapenos
-
4
large
garlic cloves
-
1 tbsp
olive oil
-
8 cups
chicken or
vegetable broth
, or bouillon
-
1 tbsp
chili powder
-
2 tsp
cumin
-
1 tsp
dried
oregano leaves
-
1/2 to 1 tsp
salt
-
1 tsp
black
pepper
Instructions
- Wash lentils in a sieve, discarding any twigs and stones. Finely chop onion. Cut red peppers in half, remove seeds and chop into 1/4-inch (0.5-cm) pieces. Peel carrots. Chop carrots and celery into 1/4-inch (0.5-cm) pieces. Core and seed jalapeños, then mince along with garlic.
- Heat oil in a large saucepan set over medium-high heat. Add onion, red peppers, carrots, celery, jalapeños and garlic. Stir-fry until vegetables are slightly soft, about 8 minutes. Stir in lentils, broth, chili powder, cumin, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring often. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until lentils and vegetables are tender, from 30 to 40 minutes. Taste and add more salt and seasonings, if needed.
- For a heartier consistency, remove about one-quarter of soup and place in bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Whirl until mixture is puréed. You may need to add a little water if mixture is too thick. Stir purée back into soup. Serve hot with a crusty baguette. Soup will keep well, covered, in the refrigerator up to 3 days or in the freezer up to 3 months.
4 ways to blend and puree soup
Nutrition (per serving)
- Calories
- 176,
- Protein
- 12.9 g,
- Carbohydrates
- 26.3 g,
- Fat
- 2.7 g,
- Fibre
- 5.6 g,
- Sodium
- 741 mg.
Earthy cumin, hot peppers and a heap of seasonings give a heady boost to this soup that’s hearty enough to serve as a vegetarian entrée.
