This Middle Eastern Lentil Soup will pleasantly surprise you! We are in the middle of Lent now (a long fast before Easter that for the Orthodox Christians lasts 7 weeks, with pretty much the Vegan diet food-wise) and David decided to make some Middle Eastern lentil soup. To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t expecting anything special out of a lentil soup – after all, lentils are lentils… Boy was I wrong!

When I finally was allowed to take a taste, all the little neurons in my brain burst out in colorful sparkles!

I commented this on David’s Facebook wall,

You’ll be surprised by the “multifaceted” flavor of this soup! It was a totally new experience for my Russian taste buds! I couldn’t even describe it in terms of food taste – it “tasted” like a middle-eastern market street on a sunny day, with exotic foods and spices and colorful merchandise on display… Arabic dance music playing on the background… a colorful Persian shawl… a shimmering coin necklace of a young and pretty belly-dancer… OK, I’d better not go that way.

Ingredients:

This makes about 6 servings.

For the Lentil Soup:

• 1 pound dry brown or green lentils
• 3 quarts vegetable stock or water
• 1 can coconut milk (12 oz) – “secret ingredient”!
• 2 medium carrots, finely diced
• 2 stalks celery, finely diced
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
• 1 small serrano or habanero pepper (seeds and ribs removed), finely chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil
• 1 table spoon your favorite hot sauce
• 1 table spoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• Sea salt (or Kosher salt)

For the Gremolata:

• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 small serrano or habanero pepper (seeds and ribs removed), finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tablespoon fresh zest from 1 orange

Finely chop all the Gremolata ingredients, transfer into a small bowl or tupperware container, and set aside.

Preparation:

Heat vegetable (or olive) oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery. Cook about 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened. Add garlic, ginger, serrano pepper, ground cumin and coriander, and cook for another minute, stirring constantly.

Add vegetable stock, coconut milk, bay leaves, and lentils. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn the heat down and leave the soup to simmer gently for about 1 hour, or until the lentils are completely tender and have started to break down. Stir occasionally, and feel free to sneak a taste to check the ‘doneness’ of the lentils!

When the lentils are done, turn the soup off. Discard the bay leaves. Add copped cilantro, soy sauce, hot sauce, lime juice, and salt to taste. Stir to evenly incorporate the seasonings.

Serve soup in individual bowls, sprinkled with the fresh Gremolata on top. Or serve Gremolata on the side, so that everyone could add the desired amount to their own taste. Enjoy!!!