• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Plant and Soul
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Work With Me

Spiced Red Lentil Soup with Preserved Lemons and Tomatoes

April 17, 2020 by Jillian Leave a Comment

Jump to Recipe

This easy but flavorful vegan spiced red lentil soup recipe can be made with a few simple ingredients. The preserved lemon and cherry tomatoes stirred in at the end results in a a serious flavor bomb- you’ll be biting into tender juicy cherry tomato halves and tangy bits of preserved lemon with every spoonful of brothy spiced red lentils.

Spiced Red Lentil Soup

 

I’m sneaking in one last cozy soup recipe for the season in the form of this spiced red lentil soup. This basic recipe can be made with very few ingredients and is extremely flexible. It’s not anything new, just my take on a pretty classic red lentil soup. What makes it special is a quick little preserved lemon and tomato salad stirred in at the end. The result is a a serious flavor bomb of a soup- you’ll be biting into tender juicy cherry tomato halves and tangy bits of preserved lemon with every spoonful of brothy spiced red lentils.

I regret not having anything green and herbaceous to top this with, and that nearly stopped me from shooting the recipe at all. My “all or nothing” tendency has not been serving me well during this period of isolation where trips to the store are extremely infrequent. But I’m trying to be more flexible and just work with what I have. I would encourage you to do the same especially if you think you might like to make this recipe but you don’t have one or more ingredient. Make it work! That’s often how delicious new meals are conceived, in my experience. Flexibility is a trait that I admire in others and am constantly trying to embody in my own life, and there’s never been a better time to practice going with the flow.

For this recipe, I used Moroccan Preserved Lemons from Casablanca Market. They were kind enough to send me a few of their products to try but I wasn’t paid to use them for this post. Their preserved lemons added so much intense flavor to this soup and have been a very welcome addition to my kitchen!

Tips for Making Spiced Red Lentil Soup with Preserved Lemons and Tomatoes:

  • Use any kind of onion. Even red onion or shallot would be fine.
  • Chop your ingredients in a food processor if you’re able- it will save a ton of time and the finely chopped veggies will become incredibly flavorful and melt away as the soup cooks.
  • If you don’t have red lentils, you could use green lentils or cooked chickpeas in this soup.
  • I would highly recommend sprinkling some chopped dill or cilantro over the finished soup if you do have it. Any herb or a spoonful of pesto would be delicious.
  • You could also stir in a handful of chopped kale or spinach if you want a more veggie-heavy soup.
  • A dollop of coconut yogurt or a drizzle of cashew cream would be delicious as well.

Spiced Red Lentil SoupSpiced Red Lentil SoupSpiced Red Lentil Soup

 

Print

Spiced Red Lentil Soup with Preserved Lemons and Tomatoes

Spiced Red Lentil Soup

This easy but flavorful vegan spiced red lentil soup recipe can be made with a few simple ingredients. The preserved lemon and cherry tomatoes stirred in at the end results in a a serious flavor bomb- you’ll be biting into tender juicy cherry tomato halves and tangy bits of preserved lemon with every spoonful of brothy spiced red lentils.

  • Author: Jillian
Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 medium yellow onion
  • 2 stalks of celery
  • 2 medium carrots
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 3/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne
  • 1 cup red lentils
  • 5 cups water or stock
  • 1 pint of cherry tomatoes
  • 2 preserved lemons
  • 1/2 – 1 tsp red pepper flakes

Instructions

  1. Peel the outer skin off your onion and chop off both ends. Roughly chop it and add it to a food processor. Roughly chop 2 stalks of celery and 2 medium carrots and add them to the food processor as well. Pulse several times to start chopping the veggies, then run the food processor on low until the vegetables are finely chopped but be sure to stop before they start to turn into a paste.
  2. Heat a large soup pot over medium to medium high and add the olive oil. Scrape the contents of the food processor into the pot along with 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of black pepper and stir well. Saute for 10 minutes. The vegetables will seem like a lot at first but they’ll shrink down as they cook.
  3. Meanwhile, smash, peel, and mince 3 cloves of garlic. Gather your cumin, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne. Rinse your red lentils.
  4. Add the garlic and spices to the soup pot and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Use a splash of water or stock to deglaze the pan if necessary, then add the rest of the liquid (I used a vegan chicken broth) and the red lentils to the pot.
  5. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook, covered, for 20 minutes.
  6. While the soup cooks, halve a pint of cherry tomatoes and add them to a medium bowl. Chop 2 preserved lemons and try to remove most of the seeds. Add the chopped lemons to the halved tomatoes along with the red pepper flakes and stir well. Set aside.
  7. Remove the lid and give the soup a good stir. You might want to cook longer to let it thicken up more, or you might want to add a bit of hot water to make the soup a little more brothy.
  8. Stir most of the tomato salad (reserve about 1/2 for topping individual servings) into the soup and taste to see if it needs more salt, acid, or heat. Serve topped with the reserved tomatoes and extra black pepper and red pepper flakes if desired.

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can't wait to see what you've made!

Filed Under: Recipes

Previous Post: « Spiced Split Pea Soup with Coconut Milk and Asparagus
Next Post: Tangy Tahini Tofu Lettuce Wraps »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

never miss a post

contact me

plantandsoulkitchen@gmail.com

social

  • View plantandsoul’s profile on Facebook
  • View plantandsoulkitchen’s profile on Instagram
  • View plantandsoul’s profile on Pinterest

search

Plant and Soul on Instagram

When you stop putting all/any of your self worth into Instagram, it becomes so much more fun to actually share and connect 🙃
I’m in full summer recipe development mode over here but still craving a few more chilly evenings and bowls of soup before we say goodbye to cozy food for a few months. ⁣
BRB I’m busy eating the same thing for breakfast every day until I never want to look at it again.
Before citrus season ends, I highly recommend you take a torch to some blood oranges and make my burnt blood orange gin smash 🍊🔥 Link in bio!
Put a cup of cane sugar into a bowl. Add a tablespoon of matcha. Mix them together. Now you have matcha sugar. The sugar will help the matcha dissolve into a splash of hot water so you can make iced matcha without the clumps or endless stirring. Plus it’s gorgeous and you could probably put it on cake or something. 🍃⁣
Chaotic chocolate drizzle energy + arguably too much flaky salt.⁣
20 minutes. Rinse your lentils. Simmer them with water and salt and a pinch of turmeric. Heat up a leftover baked potato. Sizzle cumin seeds, ginger, garlic, and chili powder in butter. Stir that into the cooked lentils. Serve with coconut yogurt and sauerkraut to satisfy an intense craving for breakfast dal. 👋⁣
I am so proud of this recipe, guys. So proud that I’m coming back from a posting hiatus to share it with you even though I know my engagement is gong to be 💩 😆⁣
Sourdough Saturdays 🍞⁣
I am not much of a valentine’s day person, but since I am a food blogger I am obligated to share at least a couple pink and/or chocolate recipes this time of year 😋⁣
Today I wanted to share two images that illustrate the difference between suddenly being struck by inspiration when I didn’t plan to shoot and forcing myself to shoot when I’m just not feeling it. ⁣
My favorite cozy winter oatmeal got a little update on the blog today in the form of some gorgeous cardamom caramelized bananas ✨🍌🥣
My favorite kale salad is on the blog today- a crispy roasted potato and chickpea kale salad with the most scrumptious chipotle tahini dressing. ⁣
Let’s talk ~flavor~ 😋⁣
What are your favorite herbs to use in winter meals? 🌱🌿🍃⁣
The 2 keys to cooking chickpeas from scratch: use plenty of water, and be patient. Oh also, salt. Fresh herbs certainly wouldn’t hurt. Garlic is always nice too... you should probably just check out my newest blog post to see all my secrets 😋 Link in bio!⁣
Just a cheeky little ingredient shot from last week’s Turmeric Chamomile Moon Milk post. 🌘🥛 This is the perfect cozy winter nightcap especially if sleep or relaxation is elusive for you right now 💛 Recipe is on the blog! ⁣
When the allure of takeout is strong, whatever I do cook has to meet a few requirements: ⁣⁣

Social

Footer

Newsletter

Copyright © 2021 Plant and Soul on the Foodie Pro Theme