Easy Moroccan Lentil Soup

Moroccan-Spiced Lentil Soup Ingredients

Olive Oil – I always have a large bottle of extra virgin olive oil in my pantry. Find one that is reasonably priced for your budget. You certainly don’t need the high-end stuff for this recipe, though quality is important. When picking out a bottle of olive oil, look for one that is stored in a dark bottle. Also, store it in a part of your kitchen where it is not exposed to additional heat, as that can quickly deteriorate the quality of it. To help with savings, I always check the unit price and keep an eye for sales, as it’s an item that I know I use a lot.

Onion, Carrots & Celery – known as a soffritto in Italian cooking. They are used to provide aromatic flavor, by slowly cooking these vegetables together in either butter or olive oil. The result of this cooking process results in sweetening these veggies, then building the flavors on top of it. It is definitely worth the effort!

I use equal parts of these three ingredients. For this recipe, I like to chop each into ¼ to ½ inch in size. I typically use a yellow onion, 2-3 carrots (depending on size) and 3-4 celery stalks (depending on size). Cook them in a tablespoon of butter or olive oil over medium-low heat for about 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent over browning. Feel free to adjust the temperature as needed. Burnt veggies is not the flavor base we want here!

Garlic – I prefer to use fresh garlic when I make soup, though you can replace it with ½ teaspoon of garlic powder.  If you are using fresh garlic, you will want to mince the garlic with a knife. Personally, I prefer to use a rasp, as I find it works much faster. I use the rasp again in this recipe when I go to add the ginger.

 Ground Coriander – This spice has a unique flavour, and is added to many Indian dishes. It comes from ground coriander seeds, though the ground version has a slightly milder flavour than its counterpart. It has some citrusy notes and some woodsy notes, resulting in an interesting element in many spice blends and curries. You can find it in the international section of many grocery stores here, or I recommend that if you’re in a larger city that has some Indian supermarkets, to check it out!

 Turmeric – Turmeric is a spice used in Asian cooking and is easily recognized by it orange-yellowish colour. In fact, it is the main ingredient in curry powders. It provides an earthy, yet sweet taste, with peppery and citrus notes. If you have turmeric in your pantry, but you can’t for the life of you remember when you purchased it, I strongly recommend replacing it for maximum taste. If your grocery store has an international section, I recommend checking there for it first, as you can often find a large bag of it for much less than the price of a jar in the spice aisle.

 Cumin – Cumin is a spice that can be purchased in ground form or in seeds. Here, you want to use the ground version, so that you’re not biting into seeds with each spoonful of soup. Cumin has a unique flavour, often described as earthy, nutty, and warm, with some slight notes of citrus. Like most spices, it contains flavonoids, which are compounds that works as antioxidants in the body, leading to many health benefits. To store, it is best to keep it in a cool, dark space in your pantry, preferably in an airtight container.

Lentils – Lentils are a legume that come in different varieties, including brown, green, black, and orange. They have an earthy, nutty and mild flavour that makes them great for recipes of all sorts, from soups, to salads, to casseroles, to veggie patties. Lentils are packed full of health benefits, as they are high in protein and fiber, and many key vitamins. They cook in about 20 minutes and don’t need to be pre-soaked like other legumes. However, they should be rinsed first and checked for any debris like rocks or small twigs that worked their way into the package. They are an affordable protein to keep stocked on hand in the pantry.

 Stock – You can use either vegetable or chicken stock in this recipe. It comes down to your preference. If you do not have any stock on hand, you can also replace the quantity with water. I keep a bottle of the concentrate in my pantry so that I always have some on hand, as I do prefer the added flavor of the stock.

 Salt & Pepper – the measured amounts for Kosher salt and ground pepper are guidelines. As always, feel free to season as desired!