Red Lentil Soup

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp Olive oil
• 1-2 large / 108 g Large carrots
• 1-2 large / 96 g Celery stalks
• 1 Yellow onion
• 2 tsp Ground cumin
• 1 cup Dried red lentils
• 4 cups Water
• 1 Tbsp Vegetable bouillon
• 1 Bay leaf
• to taste Black pepper
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 Tbsp Lemon juice

Method

1. Dice the onion, the carrots, and the celery. Warm the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Cook the vegetables about 5 minutes, until the onion softens. The comment uses 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 to 2 large carrots, 1 to 2 large celery stalks, and 1 yellow onion. The ranges use the midpoint, so this pot has 1.5 large carrots and 1.5 large celery stalks. The comment marked the celery optional. This version keeps it in the pot.
2. Stir in the cumin, the red lentils, the water, the vegetable bouillon, and the bay leaf. The comment uses 2 teaspoons cumin, 1 cup dried red lentils, 4 cups water, 1 tablespoon vegetable bouillon, and 1 bay leaf. The original post named a bouillon brand and said one scoop, with no other measurements. This pot follows the measured comment and does not name a brand. Pepper stays to taste, so it is not in the count. The comment's salt is about 1/2 teaspoon, and that 1/2 teaspoon is in the count.
3. Bring the pot to a boil. Cover it, lower the heat, and simmer about 25 minutes, until the lentils are soft. Stir so the lentils do not stick. The comment said to simmer, covered, about 25 minutes.
4. Take out the bay leaf. Puree the soup as smooth or as chunky as you want. Stir in the lemon juice. The comment uses 2 tablespoons. The comment did not give a yield. Four bowls is the cut used here. More salt, pepper, or cumin at the table is not in the count. Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for a few days. Reheat until the soup is hot.

Nutrition

Kitchen estimate only, not lab-verified. Counted as 1 of 4 bowls: the olive oil, the carrots, the celery, the onion, the cumin, the red lentils, the water, the vegetable bouillon, the bay leaf, the salt, and the lemon juice. Pepper is to taste in the comment, so it is not in the count. The comment did not give a yield. Four bowls is the cut used here. The olive oil is 1 Tbsp, 13.5 g. The carrots are 1 to 2 large. The midpoint is 1.5. A USDA large carrot is 72 g, so 1.5 is 108 g. The celery is 1 to 2 large stalks. The comment marked celery optional. This version keeps it. The midpoint is 1.5. A USDA large stalk is 64 g, so 1.5 is 96 g. The onion is one yellow onion with no size in the comment. A USDA medium onion is 110 g. The cumin is 2 tsp. A teaspoon of cumin seed is 2.1 g, so 2 tsp is 4.2 g. The lentils are 1 cup dry. A cup of pink or red lentils is 192 g. Cooked lentils are not the row, because the cup is the dry weight. Total sugars are not on that lentil row, so lentil sugars are not in the count. The water is 4 cups. A fluid ounce of tap water on this row is 29.6 g, so 4 cups is 947.2 g. The bouillon is 1 Tbsp. The row is a seasoned vegetable base, and the label teaspoon is 6 g, so 1 tablespoon is 18 g. Ready-to-serve vegetable broth is not the row. That panel lists hydrolyzed soy protein. The soy label is for that base. A different jar can differ. The bay leaf is 1, counted as 0.6 g of crumbled bay. The salt is 1/2 tsp. A teaspoon of table salt is 6 g, so 1/2 tsp is 3 g. The comment said salt to taste, about 1/2 teaspoon. That half teaspoon is in the count. Kosher salt would weigh less. The lemon juice is 2 Tbsp. A cup of lemon juice is 244 g, so 2 Tbsp is 30.5 g. Added sugars are 0. The bouillon panel lists sugar and does not give a sugar gram. That unclassified carbohydrate is under 1 g per bowl. About 3 g of sugars per bowl sit in the carrot, the onion, the celery, the lemon, and the cumin. The bouillon and the salt are the salty parts. More salt at the table would be higher.

Guest diet / allergy swaps

Short kitchen notes for guests. A fuller gluten-free or dairy-free ingredient list, when we have one, is in the panels below.

• Dairy-free

  The pot is olive oil, carrot, celery, onion, cumin, red lentils, water, vegetable bouillon, bay, salt, and lemon. It has no milk and no butter. It is already dairy-free as written. Read the bouillon jar. This is a kitchen note, not a dairy-free certification.

  • United States: There is no milk or butter in the pot. It is already dairy-free as written. Read the bouillon jar.
  • United Kingdom: The same note. This soup does not call for dairy.

• Gluten-free style

  The lentils, vegetables, olive oil, cumin, water, bay, salt, and lemon do not call for wheat. Wheat, when it shows up, is in the vegetable bouillon. Use a bouillon whose jar does not list wheat. Read the jar. This is a kitchen note, not a gluten-free certification.

  • United States: Bouillon whose jar does not list wheat. The lentils, vegetables, and lemon stay.
  • United Kingdom: Bouillon marked gluten free. The lentils are still in the bowl.

• No soy

  The counted vegetable base lists soy. Use a vegetable bouillon whose jar does not list soy. The lentils stay in the pot. A different base would change the salt. This is a kitchen note, not a soy-free certification.

  • United States: The counted vegetable base lists soy. Use a jar that does not list soy. The lentils stay.
  • United Kingdom: The same note. Check the bouillon for soya. The lentils stay.