The lentil is a brushy annual plant of the legume family, grown for its lens-shaped seeds. With 26% protein, lentil is the vegetable with the highest level of protein other than soybeans, and because of this it is a very important part of the diet in many parts of the world, and especially South Asia which has a large vegetarian population. Apart from a high level of proteins, lentils also contain dietary fiber, vitamin B1, and minerals. Red lentils contain a lower concentration of fiber than green lentils and Health magazine has selected lentils as one of the five healthiest foods. I hope you Enjoy this Broccoli Lentil soup recipe.
Broccoli Lentil Soup with Roasted Pepper Coulis
2 Cups rough-chopped broccoli
1/2 Onion, finely chopped
1/2 Cup Green Lentils
1 tsp Cumin
1/4 tsp Chili Powder*
1 Veg Bullion Cube
2 Cups Water (I used home made vegetable stock in place of Veg Bullion and water)
3/4 – 1 Cup Soymilk (or Almond Milk)
Roasted Pepper Coulis
1 Red or Orange Roasted Pepper
1 Tbs Tahini
1 Tbs Olive Oil
1 Tbs Maple Syrup
1/4 tsp Chili Powder*
Fresh Black Pepper to taste
1/2 tsp Salt
Heat vegetable oil in a large heavy bottomed pot that has a tight lid. Add onions. When they start to brown, add lentils and cumin and stir for a minute or two. Add water, broccoli, and bullion, turn down heat a little and cover. Simmer for about 30 minutes until the lentils are tender but still firm.
Meanwhile, add all the coulis ingredients into the bowl of your food processor or blender. Blend well until smooth, and set aside while soup is cooking to give the flavors some time to meld.
When the soup is ready, it should be pretty thick – too thick for soup! Blend it CAREFULLY (it’s hot!) until smooth (I didn’t even bother to wash out my food processor after I blended the coulis since it was going in the soup anyway). Return the soup to your pot and add soymilk (or Almond Milk) until the desired consistency is reached. I wanted a thick soup, so I added 3/4 of a cup of soymilk, but if you want it a little thinner plan on a full cup or so.
Place soup in bowls. Add 1/2 of the coulis on top of each bowl of soup – you can create a design if you want – partially swirling it in, or whatever.
I’m sure this would be delightful with coconut milk or soy creamer instead, but plain soymilk does the job beautifully and isn’t quite so heavy.
*Chili powder is NOT simply crushed chilies! It’s a blend of mildly spicy chilies and other spices like oregano, cumin and garlic. It’s usually dark red and milder than, say, straight cayenne pepper.
A variety of lentils exist with colors that range from yellow to red-orange to green, brown and black. The colors of the seeds when removed from the pods also vary, and there are large and small varieties. They are sold in many forms, with or without the pods, whole or split. The urad bean, a species of the genus Vigna, is also referred to as “black lentil”.
Lentils are often mixed with grains, such as rice, which results in a complete protein dish.
Most of my whole food vegetarian recipes are original, however this one I found at Vegan Yum Yum.
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Food Photo Credit: Her View Photography
Recipe Idea Credit: Vegan Yum Yum
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