Simple Red Lentil Soup with Caraway and Minted Yogurt for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

I almost didn't make soup today. I am a bit under the weather and between that and when not trying to sleep, being glued to CNN watching Hurricane Irma, I finally made my way to the kitchen and tossed together my planned soup. Luckily it was this very simple Lentil Soup with Caraway and Mint from River Cottage Every Day by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. It's quick to toss together and makes a nice transition into fall (it's still humid here so I am more than ready to think about fall), and it hit the spot taste-wise when not a lot of things sounded good.

I did skip the step of pureeing the soup. I prefer a soupy-dal-ish kind of texture with the bits of soft lentils and pieces of carrot and onion. I did make the minted yogurt which adds it own creaminess when stirred into the soup. Forgive the photos too--I just wasn't feeling it today. ;-)

Lentil Soup with Caraway and Minted Yogurt
From River Cottage Every Day by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
(Serves 6)

2 Tbsp canola or olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, roughly chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped
2 tsp coriander seeds, toasted and finely ground
1 tsp caraway seeds, toasted and finely ground
2 cloves garlic, crushed
6 cups vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups red lentils, rinsed and drained
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
5 Tbsp Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh mint

 

Heat oil in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add coriander, caraway, and garlic and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, 1–2 minutes. Add stock and lentils and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, cover with a lid, and cook, stirring occasionally, until lentils are soft, 15–20 minutes.

Transfer soup to a food processor or blender and, working in batches, purée until smooth. Return soup to the pot and keep warm over low heat. Season with salt and pepper.

To garnish, stir together yogurt and some of the mint in a bowl; set aside for 10 minutes to marry flavors. Divide soup between 6 bowls, top with a dollop of the yogurt, and sprinkle with the remaining mint. Serve soup with flat bread.

Notes/Results: Simple but great flavor from the caraway seeds and ground (mine was not freshly ground--sorry Hugh) coriander. I used an extra clove of garlic and as mentioned, left my soup as-is, rather than pureeing it. If you want to make it vegan, just omit the yogurt or use non-dairy yogurt of cashew creme for a similar effect. Just a simple, nourishing and yummy soup that goes together easily, I will happily make it again.

Linking up to I Heart Cooking Clubs where the theme this week is Sliding Into September. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipes that transition from summer into fall.

 

We have some fabulous dishes waiting this week in the Souper Sundays kitchen--let's have a look!

Judee of Gluten Free A-Z blog shared a family favorite Stone Soup and said, "Although I didn't use any stones, this recipe reminds me of the stone soup story. I did not go shopping for any ingredients, and I did not have a recipe to follow. I simply used what vegetables I could find lurking in my fridge. ... Since I only used whatever I had, I was surprised that the soup was very tasty. It turned out be an pleasing vegetable soup that was quick and easy."

 
Shaheen of Allotment2Kitchen shares Purple Green French Beans, Carrot & Potato Tacos and says, "I made this French Bean, Carrot and Potato filling in order to make some Taco's.  I used Wahaca Yellow Corn Tortilla, and finished it off with a generous dollop of soured cream.  Folded it over  and the smothered it further with some Tomatilla Salsa. This Purple Green French Bean, Carrot and Potato Tacos were very good to eat."
 

Send positive thoughts to Tina of Squirrel Head Manor who is waiting out Hurricane Irma in the Tallahassee, Florida area. She made 15-Bean Soup and said, "Also I soaked beans and made a 15 bean soup. This was something I have done for past storms, check out the recipe and post HERE. Only thing different this time is I didn't add any meat, it's strictly vegetarian. We have a good quantity of rice as well. Yellow rice, Basmati, Jasmine and plain old long grain. If need be, a few ladles of soup over a bowl of rice will sustain us for a while." 

 
Finally here at Kahakai Kitchen I tried a Bon Appetit recipe for a unique PB&J using homemade pecan-miso butter. This Pecan-Miso Butter and Strawberry Jam Sandwich was a tasty blend of salty and sweet and mat just become my new favorite go-to sandwich.  

 
Mahalo to everyone who joined me at Souper Sundays this week! 

Souper Sundays is back with a new format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.)

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here. 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Please mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post.
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

Keep positive thoughts and prayers for Florida and everywhere else that has been effected by the Hurricane Irma.