Best 4 Black Lentil Soup Recipes

CHEF JOHN'S BLACK LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Heat vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook and stir bacon in hot oil until bacon is browned and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Add onion, carrot, celery, and salt; cook and stir until onion is softened and translucent, about 10 minutes. Season with black pepper, cumin, thyme, and cayenne pepper.
• Pour lentils into bacon mixture and stir to coat completely in rendered bacon fat. Add chicken broth and bay leaf; bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and cook, adding more chicken broth as needed, until lentils are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Season with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste. Add 3 tablespoons parsley and stir. Ladle soup into bowls, sprinkle remaining parsley over the top and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil.

BLACK LENTIL VEGGIE SOUP

Steps:

• Place black lentils in a microwave-safe bowl and cover with 4 cups water. Microwave until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir and add more water if needed. Microwave for 5 minutes more. Drain and rinse.
• Combine vegetable broth, tomatoes, carrots, onion, turnips, green bell pepper, butter, ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin, and salt in a large slow cooker. Stir in lentils.
• Cook on High until carrots are tender, 4 to 6 hours.

LENTIL AND SWEET RED PEPPER SOUP WITH CUMIN AND BLACK PEPPER

Steps:

• Simmer lentils with parsley, bay leaf, broth, and water in a 4-quart saucepan, uncovered, until tender, 30 to 40 minutes.
• While lentils are cooking, coarsely grind peppercorns with cumin using a mortar and pestle or an electric coffee/spice grinder. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 4-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook bell pepper, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add spices and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add carrot, celery, onion, garlic, and remaining 3 tablespoons oil and cook, stirring, until carrot is tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in lentil mixture and discard bay leaf.
• Purée 1 cup soup in a blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Stir purée into remaining soup and reheat over moderate heat, stirring. Season soup with salt and pepper. If soup seems too thick, thin with water to desired consistency.

BLACK LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Tip the lentils into a sieve and rinse thoroughly with cold water.
• In a large pot, briskly fry the bacon in the oil until the fat runs and it starts to get crispy.
• Stir in the onion and garlic, lower the heat slightly and cook until the onion starts to soften.
• Stir in the carrots and lemon zest and cook, stirring often, for another five minutes.
• Add the mushrooms and bay leaf.
• Cook for another couple minutes, then add the red pepper and lentils.
• Stir in the vinegar.
• Sift the flour over the top and stir until it disappears.
• Add the stock and bring to a boil, stirring to make sure the flour is completely mixed in.
• Once boiling, reduce the heat and let the soup simmer for 25 minutes or until the lentils and vegetables are tender.
• You may need to add a bit more liquid along the way.
• Stir in the parsley and serve.