Lentil soup with lemon and mint

There's a fellow Assyrian food blogger that I love—Kathryn, whose blog is called Cardamom and Tea—that uses traditional Middle Eastern ingredients I grew up with but in completely unique ways.

Sure, I blog about recipes that I make. But I'm rarely the developer of said recipes.

Kathryn creates her own unique recipes though, often pulling from the flavor profile of dishes prepared during our childhoods. I love reading her stories and seeing what new dishes she comes up with week after week.

This lentil dish has become a favorite in my house for oh so many reasons. It's easy to cook yet makes a giant batch, so it's perfect to cook on a Sunday for the entire week. The lentils make it both healthy and filling, and a big bowl is hearty enough for lunch (though I do need a side or snack around 3 pm-ish to hold me over until dinnertime).

But what I said above applies to basically all lentil soups. So why has this recipe become our favorite? Because it's Fresh. Light. Zippy. Complex. Bright.

Bonus: it tastes delicious hot, warm, or cold.

It also reminds me of flavors I grew up eating but that I rarely incorporate into my regular meals. The bright acidity of lemon juice and sumac. And the unmistakable flavor of dried mint.

To me, it's those ingredients that take regular lentil soup and kick it up a million notches.

And you don't need to grow up on those flavors to be a huge fan of this recipe. The boy (Wisconsin born and bred) is often the one who asks me to make this soup for the week.

Yours in learning new ways to enjoy traditional flavors,
Jacqueline

Lentil soup with lemon and mint, barely adapted from Cardamom and Tea
I've made this soup with split red lentils and whole lentils, and both ways is delicious (whole lentils are pictured here). I also love the versatility of this dish. Want more "warm" spices in your soup? Feel free to add any other spice blend you have on hand to taste (ras al hanout, berbere, etc).

The dried mint is absolutely key to this recipe. And while you can purchase it, the jarred kind tastes/smells/looks nothing like freshly dried mint at home. So please, take the time to make some. It keeps *forever* but even years later it'll still be fragrant (vs the purchased kind which literally has barely any scent even when you recently purchase it). Kathryn from Cardamom and Tea has a tutorial on how to dry your own mint.

I swap the proportions of cumin and coriander in all my recipes because I have a very low threshold for cumin. If you're a fan, feel free to use up to 1 tsp of cumin (from the original recipe)

Ingredients
3 TBSP olive oil
1 medium to large onion, minced
3 carrots, diced (~1 ½ cups)
½ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 ½ TBSP tomato paste
2 quarts (8 cups) vegetable broth or stock
1 pound (16 ounce) bag split red lentils, sorted and rinsed (you can use whole lentils as well but the cooking time will need to be adjusted; see below)
1 ½ TBSP crushed dried mint
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp sumac
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
Salt
Pepper
¼ cup lemon juice (~1 to 1 ½ lemons)

Ideas for serving: olive oil, chopped cilantro, sumac, crushed red pepper, lemon wedges, dried mint, extra lemon wedges

Directions

1. Over medium heat, add olive oil to a heavy-bottomed stockpot or dutch oven. Add onions and carrots and saute about 5 to 10 minutes until soft (not browned), stirring occasionally. (I like to add a big pinch of salt at this stage to help the veggies cook.)
2. When soft, add cumin and coriander. Cook the spices for about 2 minutes until fragrant, making sure to stir constantly.
3. Add garlic and tomato paste and cook for another minute, stirring constantly.
4. Add vegetable broth, lentils, dried mint, paprika, sumac, and cayenne pepper. Increase heat to high and bring to a simmer.
5. Once simmering, reduce the heat to low and continue to cook, covered, for about 10 to 15 minutes, until the lentils are tender and falling apart. (Whole lentils may take an extra 5 to 10+ minutes to cook.)
6. Season with extra salt and pepper, to taste. 
7. If the soup looks too thick, add ¼ to ½ cup of water at a time. If the soup looks too watery, cook off some of the liquid with the lid removed. If you'd like the soup to be smoother you can purée using an immersion blender. Or you can vigorously whisk the soup for about 30 to 60 seconds for a "coarse puree." (This will break up the lentils further while still providing nice texture to your soup.) 
8. Stir in the lemon juice.
9. The soup can be served hot, chilled, or room temperature. Garnish with your very best olive oil and any/all of the suggestions above!