• 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

Ingredients

Scale
  • 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 ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆
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

📖 ☕️ 🎃
A few books I hope to get to in September from my physical TBR 📚
It’s been a summer of quiet solo porch reading with my tomato plants. Since my porch faces west, it’s pretty cool until mid-afternoon even on 90+ degree days.
Love me a good twisted heroine.
I stacked my physical TBR in my non-functional fireplace and I kind of love it 😍 But it makes me want to paint the bricks white.
This summer I’ve been in a serious creativity slump when it comes to cooking and creating new recipes. Sometimes cooking just feels like a chore, ya know? It’s all good, I’ve been focusing more of my time on putting a dent in the ol’ to-be-read pile instead. 📚⁣
When you stop putting all/any of your self worth into Instagram, it becomes so much more fun to actually share and connect 🙃
Chaotic chocolate drizzle energy + arguably too much flaky salt.⁣
Sourdough Saturdays 🍞⁣
Pittsburgh finally has a real all-vegan bakery. I’m talking one with a clean and bright storefront that doesn’t make me want to turn around and never eat a donut again (IYKYK). ⁣
My dad grew these beauties
Juicy little book haul + a few of the library books I’ve been devouring lately 🤗 📚 📖 ⁣
Showing off a few of my 5⭐️ reads from this year before we get too far past the halfway point of the year! I am a library book lover and a lender of the books I own and love most, so unfortunately many of the books I’ve rated 5⭐️ this year are no longer in my possession. In particular, I’d like to mention Purple Hibiscus by @chimamanda_adichie which is possibly the best book I’ve read this year. I loaned my copy to a friend at the start of quarantine so it wasn’t available for the photoshoot 📖
Last three//next three 📚 ⁣
Let something ordinary arrest you with its beauty today. If you can lie awake for hours drowning in fear, you can let one moment consume you with joy or at least surprise that life can be so sweet. ⁣
Just the dreamiest at-home cardamom vanilla latte 🥰 I added a pinch of sea salt and cardamom to the coffee grounds before brewing as well as a dash of vanilla in the milk while frothing. Such a tasty afternoon pick me up (because apparently now I drink coffee any time of day 🙃)⁣
In college I ate oatmeal with banana and peanut butter every single morning, alongside a cup of hot tea or coffee. That’s hundreds of bowls of the exact same oatmeal I’ve eaten in my life. And it still hasn’t gotten old 😆⁣

Footer

Newsletter

Copyright © 2023 Plant and Soul on the Foodie Pro Theme