Name: Persian-style Tomato and Lentil Soup
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons ghee or olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion (8 ounces), diced
- 3/4 cup (5 ounces) green or brown lentils
- 1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) uncooked basmati rice
- 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried mint leaves (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, plus more as needed
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 6 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth, divided
- 1/2 bunch (2 ounces) fresh parsley, preferably curly, leaves and tender stems, finely chopped and divided, plus more for serving
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons), plus more to taste
Instructions:
- In a large Dutch oven or pot with a lid, heat the ghee or oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers.
- Add the onion, and stir occasionally until it starts to brown, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the lentils and rice, coating them in the fat.
- Add the tomato paste, cumin, dried mint, if using, salt, pepper and cinnamon.
- Add about 2 cups of the stock, and stir to dissolve the tomato paste and evenly disperse the spices.
- Add the remaining stock, stir well, increase the heat to high and bring to a boil.
- Decrease the heat to medium-low, stir, cover and simmer until the rice and lentils are cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. (If soup thickens more than you'd like, add water, 1/4 cup at a time.)
- Taste, and adjust the seasonings, if needed.
- Stir in about three-quarters of the parsley and remove from the heat.
- Just before serving, stir in the lemon juice.
- Divide the soup among bowls, top with the remaining parsley and serve hot.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Comments: 10/16/2022 - I mostly followed the recipe. I used one cup of red lentils,
1/2 teaspoon each of salt, pepper, and cinnamon, vegetable broth, and the juice of only
one lemon. While it was cooking, I added a cup of water, but it turned out very thick -
more like a paste than a soup. The flavor of lemon was still strong.
I served it with green salad and naan bread.
Gail liked it.
For the second night, I added 1/2 cup of cooked rice and a cup of broth.
Source: Washington Post, 9 Feb 2022
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