Jacob's Middle Eastern Lentil Soup

Chef Buggsy Mate's Note:

This recipe came out of our home school Bible Workbook called Genesis to Joshua. My children had to make it one day for Bible Class. For those who need a refresher...Esau came in from the wilderness after hunting and sold his birthright to Jacob for some of his soup. I have to tell you, I have never been a big lentil soup fan, but the lemon juice in this soup really brightens the flavor and I found it to be very pleasing...even my picky eaters enjoyed it!

• Total Time: 55 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 cup dried lentils
• 4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:

1. Rinse lentils, discarding and stones, or blemished lentils; drain.
2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until hot.
3. Add onion and bell pepper, cook and stir 5 minutes or until tender.
4. Add cumin and ground red pepper and stir 1 minute.
5. Pour in the 4 cups of water and the lentils. Bring to a boil and Reduce heat to low.
6. Cover and simmer 20 minutes.
7. Stir in salt and simmer 10 minutes more or until lentils are tender.
8. Stir in lemon juice and serve.

Reviews

[mummamills]

The lemon juice really makes this soup, and I really enjoyed it. it was even better the next day. made for Aussie swap, jan 2013

[Terese]

I made this lovely soup tonight for dinner. I actually made it in my Thermomix so adjusted the time slightly. The only other change was I used 3/4 cup of lentils and used vegetable stock instead of water. I really enjoyed it. thanks

[Kiwi Kathy]

Delicious soup. I used red lentils and just a grind of black pepper in place of the red pepper. Good taste and texture though I might reduce the amount of water by 1/2 a cup next time, just to make it a little thicker. Made for Aussie / Kiwi Swap March 2011.