Red Lentil Soup with Curry, Coconut, and Ginger

I absolutely LOVE lentil soup, especially sassy ones with lots of spices and heat. This vegan-ish recipe can be made with mostly pantry ingredients, which makes it a go-to of mine when I haven’t gone grocery shopping in a while.

Ingredients:
olive oil
1/2 medium white onion, finely chopped
3 medium shallots, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 inches of ginger, grated
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes
3/4 cup split red lentils
1 14 oz can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock (or you can use water in a pinch)
1 14 oz can full fat coconut milk

Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and shallots and sautee for about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, ginger, curry powder, and red pepper flakes and sauté for another 5 minutes, making sure to stir frequently.

Add lentils, mixing thoroughly until toasted and coated in spices, about a minute. Add tomatoes, parsley, stock or water, and a few generous pinches of salt and ground black pepper. Mix the coconut milk as much as possible in the can before adding that as well. Bring mixture to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes or until lentils are al dente.

Ladle into bowls and serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt, squeeze of lemon, more parsley, glug of olive oil, flaky sea salt and cracked pepper. Serve with some toasted pita for dipping and buon appetito!!