GREEN SPLIT PEA/LENTIL SOUP

As the evening wind becomes more persistent, a slight chill appears in the air. I embrace this change of seasons, as it means that soups are able to be eaten without sweating or wilting. I adore this time of year, when the sweltering Brisbane summer has passed and the sun shines brightly without melting you. I had a strong desire to make soup last night and turned to one of my Natural Cooking cookbooks by Heidi Swanson. Heidi always includes a decent amount of soup recipes in her books, however the Green Lentil Soup caught my eye as the colour looked both unusual and extremely appetizing at the same time. My partner despises soups as he seems to think they are basically water or thin stock with boring vegetables in them, therefore when he saw me preparing dinner he let out more than a few sighs. However, when the soup was served to him with warm toasted gluten-free bread, he polished it off within 3 minutes and told me it was ‘really yummy’ 4 times. I wholeheartedly agreed. This is the soup to change anyone’s previous conceptions about soup being boring, unsatisfying or bland. 


INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, ghee or coconut oil
• 1 1/3 cup of green lentils or green split peas, rinsed (I used green split peas but I imagine using green lentils may result in a very similar taste but a slightly more green colour of the soup)
• 1 medium brown onion (100-120g), finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt 
• 5 cups vegetable stock or water (I used Massel vegetable stock)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or ghee 
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• Optional- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika 
• 1/2 cup (125ml) light coconut milk
• 1/4 cup fresh chives, finely chopped

COOKING 

1. Place the 2 tablespoons unsalted butter/ghee/coconut oil, onion, garlic, chilli flakes and sea salt in a large saucepan over medium heat and stir often, until the onion is soft and transparent. This should take 2-3 minutes. Add the 5 cups vegetable stock or water and reduce to a simmer, covering, until the lentils/peas are tender. This can take anywhere from 20-50 minutes depending on your lentils/peas and your saucepan. In the case of my cooking, it took 35-40 minutes for the peas to become tend.

2. Whilst the lentils/peas are cooking, melt 2 tablespoons butter/ghee in a small saucepan over medium heat and let it lightly brown. Add the curry powder and smoked paprika (if you wish, as paprika will give the soup a smoky, woody quality that some love and some despise) and stir constantly. When the butter mixture starts to smell fragrant, remove the pan from the heat. 

3. Remove the lentils/peas from the heat when tender and stir in the coconut milk. Puree the mixture in a blender or food processor. If you want the consistency of the soup to be a little chunky, only puree for a short while. I pureed the soup until it was smooth, and this only took around 30 seconds. Pour into individual bowls, and drizzle the spiced butter on top, stirring into the soup. If you made the soup with water instead of vegetable stock, you may need to add more salt. Sprinkle the chives on top and serve with warm toasted bread, if you desire.  

Serves / 4 as a main meal, 6 as a side 

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