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Lentil: Lentil Soup with Lime Juice

Source of Recipe

Fiesta of Santa Fe


List of Ingredients

1 1/2 cups dried lentils
6 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon whole cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried mint, thyme or oregano
3 bay leaves
1/2 cup canned chopped green chiles
1 bell pepper, cut in chunks
1 carrot, peeled, cut in chunks
1/4 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil


Recipe

Place the first 7 ingredients into a 3-quart pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface, cover the pot, and boil gently until lentils are thoroughly soft - this takes anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes. Place the green chiles and 1 cup of the soup into a food processor and process continuously until pureed. Return mixture to the soup in the pot.

Wipe the processor bowl with a paper towel or rinse lightly, then finely chop first the bell pepper and then the carrot in it, using repeated pulses of the motor and stopping at least once to scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Add the bell pepper and then the carrot to the soup. From this point, the soup can be held off heat until serving time, or you can proceed directly to the final step.

When you are ready to serve, bring the soup back to a boil (but do not cook at this temperature for more than a minute since you want the bell pepper and carrot to remain crisp), taste for seasoning and add more water to adjust the texture--the soup should be thick enough to coat a spoon but not porridgy. Stir in the lime juice and olive oil, warm through for a few seconds more and serve. Serves 4.