Lentil soup is a favorite in many cultures and that's no different for the Lebanese. We love lentils and beans in many of our dishes. Our version of lentil soup utilizes red lentils and is big on flavor. This is a famous dish around Ramadan time. You can always expect to see it in the rotation during the month. And with good reason. It's not only delicious, it's hearty, good for you, and filling which is what is needed after a long day of fasting. Ramadan or not, this is a great side dish for your meal. This recipe was tweaked from my mom's version which is so delicious. We scaled it way down but kept all the great flavor. Hope you give my mom's Lebanese lentil soup recipe a try!
REASONS YOU SHOULD TRY THIS RECIPE:
full of protein from the lentils so it's very healthy
big on flavor from the seasonings
velvety thick texture
INGREDIENTS FOR MY LEBANESE LENTIL SOUP RECIPE:
Red lentils
Yellow onion
Carrot
Cold water
Vegeta seasoning
Cumin
Black pepper
HOW TO MAKE MY LEBANESE LENTIL SOUP:
Pre-soak the rice in a small bowl of hot water to cover the rice.
Cut the onion into a small dice. Sautee the onion in a bit of olive oil over medium heat until translucent and the onions have a bit of a golden color to them. Set aside once finished.
Fill a pot with 2 ½ cups of cold water and add your lentils in there. This first boil will take about ten minutes. Over high heat, let the lentils reach a boil and then once it does, turn the heat down to medium or medium-high to cook for the remainder of the ten minutes.
Drain the lentils of the water.
Pour the lentils back into the same pot you used before and pour in 3 cups of cold water. Over high heat, add in your sauteed onions, ½ a carrot and your seasonings. After the soup reaches a boil again, turn the heat down to medium to medium-high heat and cook for the remainder of the 10-12 minutes.
Turn the heat off and use an immersion blender to carefully blend the mixture until it's a combined soup. Add a few cracks of fresh black pepper and stir to finish the soup.
The soup is on the thicker side naturally. You can add a couple to a few cups of water if you want to thin it down, but you may have to re-adjust seasonings if you do that.
Serve with fried pita on top, radishes, or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice (any of these are good options).
fresh black peppercouple of twists of the pepper grinder
Instructions
Pre-soak the rice in a small bowl of very warm water to cover the rice.
Cut the onion into a small dice. Sautee the onion in a bit of olive oil over medium heat until translucent and the onions have a bit of a golden color to them. Set aside once finished.
Fill a pot with 2 ½ cups of cold water and add your lentils in there. This first boil will take about ten minutes. Over high heat, let the lentils reach a boil and then once it does, turn the heat down to medium or medium-high to cook for the remainder of the ten minutes.
Drain the lentils of the water.
Pour the lentils back into the same pot you used before and pour in 3 cups of cold water. Over high heat, add in your sauteed onions, ½ a carrot and your seasonings. After the soup reaches a boil again, turn the heat down to medium to medium-high heat and cook for the remainder of the 10-12 minutes.
Turn the heat off and use an immersion blender to blend the mixture together until it's a combined soup. Add a few cracks of fresh black pepper and stir to finish the soup.
The soup is on the thicker side naturally. You can add a couple to a few cups of water if you want to thin it down a bit but you may have to re-adjust seasonings if you do that.
Serve with fried pita on top, radishes or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice (any of these are good options).
Video
Notes
The soup is on the thicker side naturally. You can add a couple to a few cups of water if you want to thin it down a bit but you may have to re-adjust seasonings if you do that.You can taste and adjust the seasonings to your taste but the amounts listed in the recipe provide a good base.Best served within the first three days.