LENTIL SOUP || ALL THE WAYS

Happy New Year, friends!

How is everyone doing this side of the ball drop? We are healthy, which feels like a small miracle. Also feeling a bit more playful (also miraculous feeling—levity always is). And still experiencing the same waves and bursts of energy that have categorized the last two pandemic years.

I suppose I woke up on day one of this year believing that new year energy might be limitless this time, but here I am, on day 5, remembering that Monday’s energy burst (I cooked / cleaned / organized all day) is often followed by a Tuesday relapse and a Wednesday inclination to hibernate in bed all day. I’m happy to say I did not, but reader know this: I wanted to.

The good news: there are recipes specifically made for this kind of cycle; Fall-back recipes that are always nourishing and delicious, that flex beautifully with ambition yet offer ease, when needed. Like today.

One such recipe—Red Lentil Dal— is the food I cook most often; the soup that is on our table once a week in any season and any year—certainly the last three. You’ll find it in my latest book, Instant Family Meals, which I forget to mention sometimes, but never in winter when this way of cooking is a way of life, a balm.

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Red Lentil Dal is the pinnacle of ambition plus ease. It’s everything you need it to be, every time.

I make dal because red lentils they are quick to break down and easy to digest. Green or puy lentils (often seen in French cooking) give me troubles, but this recipe could easily be made that way too (increase the cooking time by about 15 to 20 minutes). The result would be a called a soup, not a dal, naturally—but no less delicious.

There are a half dozen brilliant ways to top any lentil soup. When Greta was a toddler I would cook this dal extra thick, with almost twice as many red lentils, and serve it with big chunks of avocado on top. It satisfied us both, in spades. Lately I serve it with steamed potatoes chopped and stirred in to just warm through, for winter heft. When I have the time, I fry garlic chips and top it with fresh mint and cilantro. Other times, like tonight, I dollop hearty spoonfuls of plain whole milk yogurt in which my kid’s love, to temper the heat and to add a little subtle richness we never mind.

I noticed that Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s has a puy lentil soup in her wonderful book A Year of Simple Family Food, that’s similar to this in flavor profile—with the addition of celery, carrot and chickpeas, and topped with butter-fried-onions (yum!) and soft poached eggs (double, yum!). Ali Stafford also has a one-pot, vegan and completely delicious lentil soup on her blog that you may want to try. She serves hers straight up with a side of bread—classic—but it would work with any of these toppings, too.

The basic lowdown—grab a bag of dried lentils each and every time you run through the store. You won’t regret it. That such a simple (and insanely affordable) ingredient can be transformed into a meal this good any day of the week, is optimism itself.

RECIPE BELOW

Red Lentil Dal with Citrus and Herbs

REPUBLISHED WITH PERMISSION from Instant Family Meals by Sarah Copeland

Dal—a satisfying Indian lentil soup—is a potent and infinitely repeatable stew that is rich and warming. Red lentils make for a quicker, easier plant-based protein fix than green or brown lentils, which take longer to cook (and can be hard to digest). This base of brothy red lentils is just the beginning: it’s the myriad toppings that really brings this to life. Try it with lemon and cilantro, a hint of mint, and crispy garlic chips—though just a squeeze of lemon or a dollop of plain yogurt can be just right for simpler nights. With a pressure cooker, you can have it all in 30 minutes, flat.

1 cup masoor dal (split red lentils)

5 to 6 cups Chicken or vegetable broth

1 large red onion, finely chopped (about 1½ cups)

2 large ripe tomatoes (about 1 pound), cored and chopped

2 to 3 green chiles, such as serrano or jalapeño, halved

1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger

¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Fine sea salt

FOR SERVING

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

4 tablespoons ghee or coconut oil, melted 

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves

½ cup fresh mint leaves

1 lemon or lime, thinly sliced

1. Combine the dal, 5 cups of the broth, the red onion, tomatoes,

chiles, ginger, turmeric, coriander, and cumin in the inner pot of the

pressure cooker. Lock on the lid and Pressure Cook on high pressure

for 15 minutes. Release the steam naturally (about 15 minutes).

Open the lid and check; the lentils should be falling apart.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium cast-iron skillet over medium heat,

cook the garlic in the ghee until crisp and golden, stirring frequently

and adjusting the heat to avoid burning, about 2 minutes. Use a

slotted spoon to transfer the garlic to a paper towel to drain.

3. Taste the dal and adjust the consistency with the remaining

1 cup broth, warmed, according to your liking. Stir in the lemon juice; add salt if needed.

4. Spoon the dal into bowls and top with the garlic chips and the

cilantro, mint, and lemon slices.

PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES

TOTAL TIME: 30 MINUTES

SERVES 4

MAKE IT ON THE STOVETOP: 

To make this in a Dutch Oven or large pot, cook the red onion, chiles, ginger, turmeric, coriander and cumin in 1 tablespoon of oil over low heat until fragrant. Add the lentils, 5 cups of the broth, and tomatoes. Cover and simmer over low heat until the lentils completely break down, about 30 minutes. Then continue with the instructions above.  

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*  images belong to Sarah Copeland, and should not be pinned or posted without attribution. *

• Photo // CHRISOPHER TESTANI

• Prop Styling // SARAH COPELAND

• Food Styling // CHRIS LANIER