Lentil Soup on a Cold Day

The weather has been so cold (38F or 3C) this week and even colder all over the country that the only thing I really feel like making is soup to warm us up.   Approaching the table to a warm bowl of soup just makes my heart happy! Plus it just reminds me of Chile. We eat a lot of soup there. 

Today I am sharing my Lentil Soup recipe for making a soup that is comforting and high in protein, fiber, folate, vitamin B1, iron, and other minerals.   

Facts about lentils:

• very healthy food! 
• it goes well with most vegetables!
• inexpensive!
• taste even better on the second day! 

Recently I learned that I can use my rice cooker to cook legumes (beans, lentils, garbanzos, etc). It's been a time saver!!! I no longer have to stand in the kitchen stirring the legumes so they don't stick to the bottom.  No one wants to eat burned food!!!!   


This is the rice cooker I use, it's a great size for my family, and it really just works great!!! I highly recommend it:  (affiliate link)

Lentil Soup 

Ingredients 

(for 5 people)

2 14oz bags of lentils

1 large onion

some carrots

paprika

cumin 

salt 

cilantro (optional)

Preparation

1. Soak lentils for 15-20 min with cold water. 
2. In a pan, heat up some oil and then add your chopped onion with some paprika and cumin. Enough to cover all your onions. Then stir it. 
3. Then add your carrots.  Add a bit more oil if needed. 

                                         

4. Drain and rinse your lentils.
5. Pour lentils with the onion and carrot mixture and cover it with water.       Add salt now. 
6. Boil lentils for about 40 minutes or until tender.  

I like to add fresh cilantro to my soup while it's cooking. I love the smell and the flavor and it meshes real well with the other ingredients. 

If your lentils start to get dry, just add more water and compensate the flavor by adding more salt. 

Serve warm! 

Enjoy!!!

Fabi