Arabic Lentil Soup

Total Time: 2 hrs Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 2 cups brown lentils
• 2 quarts chicken stock (or your choice)
• 1 large onion, quartered
• 2 tablespoons garlic, chopped or sliced
• 1 medium tomato, quartered
• 2 tablespoons butter, less if desired
• 1 medium onion, sliced thinly
• 1 teaspoon cumin, to taste

Recipe

• 1 wash lentils thoroughly and soak if desired.
• 2 i never soak them, and they always seem to cook up quickly.
• 3 bring stock to a boil.
• 4 add quartered onion, garlic, tomato and lentils.
• 5 return to boil, then lower heat and allow to simmer, partially covered, until lentils are tender.
• 6 the amount of time will depend on the freshness of the lentils and whether or not they were soaked, but plan on an hour to an hour and a half.
• 7 over-cooking wouldn't be a problem since this is a blended soup, but under-cooking would.
• 8 as lentils approach tenderness, melt butter in a small frying pan over medium-low heat.
• 9 add thinly sliced onion and allow to fry until very dark brown.
• 10 add cumin, saute briefly.
• 11 add mixture to soup and stir through.
• 12 ladle one ladle-full of soup at a time into a blender or food processor.
• 13 using a dishtowel, hold lid down and process soup until homogenous.
• 14 when soup has been completely pureed, return to a pot and reheat until ready to serve.
• 15 enjoy!