When fall comes, I crave soups. This carrot-lentil soup is super yummy, kid-friendly, easy to make, and provides a nice balance of protein, fats and good carbs. The red lentils in this soup are quite subtle – so don’t hesitate to try this if you or your kid thinks they don’t like them.
To put this soup’s solid protein content in perspective, check out my latest article: A Simple Way To Get Enough Protein.
Ingredients
Serves 6
- 3 stalks celery
- 3 large carrots
- 1/2 medium yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup dry red lentils
- 1/2 large yam or sweet potato (optional)
- 1/3 cup cashews (creaminess secret)
- 2 1/2 cups water (or vegetable broth)
- 1/2 tsp cumin (ginger works too)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Garnish (optional): Fresh basil worked well. Roasted pumpkins seeds would have been nice!
Directions
1. Chop celery, carrots, onion, and sweet potato (peel first)
2. In a large pot, saute onion, celery and garlic on low for a few minutes, then add carrots and sauce for a few more minutes on medium
3. Add sweet potato, lentils and water (or broth) and bring to a boil
4. Lower and simmer for about 15 minutes
5. While simmering, make the cashew cream: add just enough water to cover cashews and blend
6. Either mix the cashew cream into the whole pot or serve a nice swirl or two in each bowl
Nutrition
Recipe credit is a mixed bag. It is inspired partially by red lentil pure from @buonapappa and partially by tomato bisque from Tal Ronnen’s amazing vegan cookbook Conscious chef. Super-nanny Paula put it all together.
