Thursday, February 2, 2023

Curried lentil, tomato and coconut soup - Ottolenghi

From Ottolenghi Simple

I made this for the first time and it was delicious.  You can adjust the heat with more or less curry or red pepper flakes.  I usually cut down the curry from directions in a recipe, but I had a mildish curry (from Abdul) and used just about 1 Tbsp.  Topping it with cilantro was good.  I used lite coconut milk, about 1/2 - 2/3 of a can, and didn't use any to top it off.  Seemed good to all of us that way.

Per the book, you can blend it if you like, but I prefer feeling the textures of the lentils, cilantro stems...

INGREDIENTS: 

2 Tbsp sunflower oil

1 onion, finely chopped (1 1/4 cups)

1 Tbsp medium curry powder

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

2 garlic cloves, crushed or minced

2" piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped (? 1/4 cup per book)

3/4 cup red lentils, rinsed and drained

1 can (14.5 oz) chopped tomatoes (used fire roasted)

1 1/4 cups cilantro stems, roughly chopped, plus 1/4 cup leaves to garnish

2.5 cups water

salt and black pepper

1 can coconut milk (or less)

Can serve with lime slices - I didn't see this until after the fact

DIRECTIONS: 

1) Heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and fry for 8 minutes, stirring frequently until soft and caramelized.  

2) Add the curry powder, pepper flakes, garlic and ginger and continue to fry for 2 minutes, stirring continuously.  

3) Add the lentils, stir through for 1 minutes, then add the tomatoes, cilantro stems, water and 1 tsp of salt and a very generous grind of pepper.

4) Pour the coconut milk into a bowl and gently whisk until smooth and creamy (lite milk doesn't really get creamy).  Set aside 1/4 cup for serving; add the remaining milk to the soup.  Bring to a boil, then decrease the heat to medium and simmer gently for 25 minutes, until the lentils are soft but still holding their shape.  Add a little bit more water (~7-10 Tbsp) if needed to thin. 

5) Divide the soup among 4 world, drizzle with the reserved coconut milk, sprinkle with cilantro leaves and serve. 

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