Recipes > Lentil Coconut Soup | No-Oil
- Serves: 4 to 6
- Active Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 1 hr
- Views: 6,809
- Success Rating: 63% (?)
Steps
Step 1: Preparing Your Mise en Place
- 1 white onion
- 1 - 2 inch piece ginger (2 tbsp minced)
- 1/2 red serrano pepper, or to taste
- 1 tbsp coriander seed*
- 4 tsp whole cumin seeds*
- 1 1/2 cups red lentils
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
- 1 (14 oz) can coconut milk, lite or other unsweetened plant milk
- 1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Method
To prepare your mise en place, dice the onions and mince the ginger and serrano pepper. This soup really does benefit from a bit of heat, but the amount you add is ultimately up to you.
Next, gather the rest of the ingredients.
*Note: If you do not like whole spices, you can use ground cumin and/or coriander, but keep in mind that you will end up with slightly different results.
Step 2: Cooking & Finishing the Soup
- 1/4 cup low-sodium vegetable stock
- 2 fresh lemons (2 tbsp zest + 5 tbsp lemon juice)
- 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
- 1/2 ripe avocado (optional) as garnish
- flaked sea salt, to taste
Method
To cook the soup, heat a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Dry-toast the coriander and cumin for approximately 1-2 minutes, or until they just start to smoke and release their aroma.
Next, add the onions and serrano pepper and continue dry sauté until the onions begin to stick, ensuring that the spices do not burn. Add 1/4 cup vegetable stock to deglaze the pan and caramelize the onions until translucent and starting to brown.
Next, add the ginger, lentils, stock, coconut or other plant-based milk, and pepper. Bring to a simmer, turn the heat to low, cover and let cook for 40 minutes or until the lentils are totally soft and broken down. Stir occasionally to ensure the lentils are not sticking to the bottom of the pot. If needed, add more water or stock until you reach your desired consistency.
Meanwhile, zest and juice the lemons. Chop the cilantro and set aside.
To finish the soup, remove the soup from heat and add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and cilantro. Serve into warmed bowls and top with diced avocado and more cilantro and/or chili flakes, if desired. Season each bowl with the desired amount of finishing flaked sea salt.
9 Comments
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A fantastic soup. Try it! -
Thanks Janet! So glad you enjoyed! Chef Kirk -
I could not find a Serrano peppe during the covid lock down. Any other pepper that might suffice? -
Hi Kelly. You can use jalapeño or a Thai chili or really any other chili you find and like- just be sure to take a tiny taste if you are unsure about the heat level. Lauren -
I love the flavor of this soup and have made it twice. I want to use whole spices but am struggling with the whole coriander seeds in the soup. Should the coriander and cumin be toasted and then ground or are they supposed to be left whole? They are tough to chew and I find myself digging them out. Help!! -
Rouxbe Staff
Caryn, there are different ways of handling spices, including grinding first or added them whole. Feel free to do what suits your preference. And, do consider toasting the spices before grinding. Eric -
Thank you! toast and grind it is!
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This was super tasty on day one. However, on day two, the lemon taste seemed overpowering. Part may have been due to the cumin seed continuing to infuse flavor into the soup and part may be the lemon peel itself (to me cumin has a mild citrus note.) Would placing the spices in an tea bag sort of thing help? Any other ideas? -
Rouxbe Staff
Hello Debra: I always like to make sure that the lemon peels are washed well prior to use. Also, you may want to decrease the amount of citrus if the flavor is overpowering. A tea infuser sounds like another good idea. I have made this soup and enjoyed the citrus flavor--hope you can resolve the flavoring. Also, maybe decrease the amount of the cumin seeds. Looking at the photo, it appears that the zest is used as a garnish--that would be my best recommendation. Hope this works for you. Char
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