Afghan Red Lentil Soup

Ingredients

• Onions

  Raw

  1 medium or 110g

• Carrots

  Raw

  2 large or 144g

• Celery

  Raw

  1 stalks, large (11 inches long) or 64g

• Garlic

  Raw

  2 clove or 6g

• Lemons

  Raw, with peel

  1 fruit without seeds or 108g

• Spearmint

  Fresh

  2 tbsp or 11g

• Olive oil

  Salad or cooking

  2 tsp or 9g

• Cumin

  Spices, cumin seed

  1 tsp, ground or 3g

• Tomatoes

  Red, ripe, canned, packed in tomato juice

  1 ½ cup or 360g

• Spearmint

  Dried

  1 tsp or 0.5g

• Lentils

  Raw

  1 cup or 192g

• Water

  Plain, clean water

  2 cup or 473g

• Salt

  Table

  1 dash or 0.4g

• Pepper

  Spices, black

  1 dash or 0.1g

Directions

1. Prep the produce: halve, peel, and dice the onion; peel and finely dice the carrots; finely chop the celery; and mince the garlic.
2. Zest the lemon, then halve it. Cut one half into wedges for serving. Thinly slice the fresh mint, reserving a few leaves for garnish.
3. Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, celery, and carrots; cook, stirring, until softened, 4–5 minutes. Stir in the cumin and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
4. Add the canned tomatoes and dried mint. Break up the tomatoes with a spoon or masher and bring to a gentle simmer.
5. Rinse and drain the red lentils. Add them to the pot with the water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender and the soup is slightly thickened, 25–30 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
6. Stir in the sliced fresh mint and the juice from half the lemon. Simmer 1 minute to meld.
7. For a creamier texture, blend part or all of the soup with an immersion blender, or transfer carefully to a stand blender in batches.
8. Ladle into bowls and garnish with lemon zest, reserved mint leaves, and lemon wedges for squeezing at the table.