Egyptian Lentil Soup

EGYPTIAN LENTIL SOUP 😋

The “I just got back from vacation and my stomach needs a reset” soup. The “I just want to cook one thing on Sunday and have meals all week long I won’t get sick of” soup. Because sometimes life is life, and you just gotta keep food extra simple. But healthy. But also super delicious.

This is my grandma’s recipe and it’s so delicious, so easy, and so healthy that it’s an every other week meal prep dish for me. Seriously, the prep time is like less than 5 minutes you gotta make this! I love this soup especially for meal prep because it tastes even better reheated the second day (or the 4th, 5th, etc 😉)

Ingredients:

For the Egyptian Lentil Soup:

• 2 cups red lentils

• 32 oz chicken stock (about 4 cups - you can use vegetable stock to keep this vegetarian)

• 1 medium to large onion, chopped

• 1 can petite diced tomatoes

• 3 Tbsps. ground cumin (seems like a lot but trust me!)

• Juice from 3-4 lemons

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• Black pepper to taste

• Salt to taste

• 1-2  thinly sliced lemons for serving (optional)
  

Directions:

For the Egyptian Lentil Soup:

• Rinse 2 cups red lentils in a colander (don’t skip this step! It helps prevent the foam that rises to the top of lentil soups)

• Set a heavy 5-6 qt. pot to medium heat and add in the olive oil and the onions. Saute for 5-7 minutes until soft.

• Add in lentils, stock, and can of tomatoes and bring to a boil.  

• Once boiling, cover and reduce to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes or until lentils are tender.

• Add cumin, salt and pepper to taste (you will need a good amount of salt), and cook a few minutes longer. It is very important to not salt until the end! Or else the lentils will absorb the liquid too fast.

• Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasonings.

• Serve with one or two lemon slices in each bowl and enjoy!.

Note: Red lentils are best as they don’t have a hard shell so make the soup the right consistency without more steps. If you only have access to brown lentils you will have to blend about half the soup to get the right consistency.