Hearty red lentil soup with coconut and peanuts

Name: Hearty red lentil soup with coconut and peanuts
Prep time: 22 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: world favourites
Ingredients: 150 g Red lentils (75 g dried per person, rinsed in step 1); 200 g Unsweetened coconut milk (half a 400 ml tin, shaken well before opening); 40 g Smooth peanut butter, 100% peanuts (2 heaped tbsp peanut butter made from 100% peanuts, stirred thoroughly in the jar); 20 g Unsalted roasted peanuts (a small handful, roughly chopped with a knife to finish); 30 g Double-concentrated tomato purée (2 level tbsp); 140 g Carrots (1 large carrot); 80 g Yellow onions (1 small onion); 10 g Garlic (2 cloves); 12 g Fresh ginger (1 × 2 cm piece); 15 g Fresh red chillies (1 chilli with half its seeds removed; keep all the seeds for more heat); 10 g Sunflower oil, for frying or as a neutral oil (1 tbsp); 2 g Ground cumin (½ heaped tsp); 1.5 g Turmeric (½ tsp); 650 g Water (650 ml heated in the kettle, plus 50–150 ml to adjust; 800 ml in the kettle in total); 80 g Lime (1 lime, squeezed, giving 25–30 g juice); 8 g Fresh coriander (about 10 sprigs, washed and checked); 100 g Bread (baguette or country loaf) (2 thick slices of pareve bread, toasted); 9 g Fine salt (1½ tsp in total: 6 g during cooking, up to 3 g to adjust the seasoning)

pareve light lunch · world favourites · 2/5 · easy · 45 min, including 22 hands-on

A meal in a bowl inspired by West African groundnut soup: red lentils cooked until soft in a base of fried tomato purée, ginger and fresh chilli, enriched with coconut milk and peanut butter, then finished with lime and roughly chopped roasted peanuts.

Ingredients for two

150 g	Red lentils 75 g dried per person, rinsed in step 1
200 g	Unsweetened coconut milk half a 400 ml tin, shaken well before opening
40 g	Smooth peanut butter, 100% peanuts 2 heaped tbsp peanut butter made from 100% peanuts, stirred thoroughly in the jar
20 g	Unsalted roasted peanuts a small handful, roughly chopped with a knife to finish
30 g	Double-concentrated tomato purée 2 level tbsp
140 g	Carrots 1 large carrot
80 g	Yellow onions 1 small onion
10 g	Garlic 2 cloves
12 g	Fresh ginger 1 × 2 cm piece
15 g	Fresh red chillies 1 chilli with half its seeds removed; keep all the seeds for more heat
10 g	Sunflower oil, for frying or as a neutral oil 1 tbsp
2 g	Ground cumin ½ heaped tsp
1.5 g	Turmeric ½ tsp
650 g	Water 650 ml heated in the kettle, plus 50–150 ml to adjust; 800 ml in the kettle in total
80 g	Lime 1 lime, squeezed, giving 25–30 g juice
8 g	Fresh coriander about 10 sprigs, washed and checked
100 g	Bread (baguette or country loaf) 2 thick slices of pareve bread, toasted
9 g	Fine salt 1½ tsp in total: 6 g during cooking, up to 3 g to adjust the seasoning

Method

Heat 800 g water in the kettle, 650 g for the soup and 150 g reserved to adjust the consistency. Rinse the lentils in a fine sieve under cold water, stirring with your hand until the water is almost clear, then leave to drain. Peel and finely chop the onion; peel and coarsely grate the carrot. Scrape the ginger skin off with a teaspoon, peel the garlic, then finely grate both. Split the chilli, remove half the seeds and finely chop.
Heat the oil in a 20 cm saucepan over a medium heat and soften the onion and carrot for 5 minutes, stirring without colouring. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and stir for 30 seconds, then add the cumin, turmeric and tomato purée. Stir for 1 minute, pressing the purée against the base: the paste should darken, become glossy and catch slightly. This builds the soup's flavour, so do not skip it.
Add the drained lentils, 650 g hot water and 6 g salt, scraping the base to release the browned residues. Bring to a simmer and skim off the white foam that rises. Cook over a low heat with the lid ajar for 18–20 minutes, scraping the base every 5 minutes. If the soup becomes thicker than single cream before the end, add 50 g hot water. The lentils are ready when they break down under the spoon.
Meanwhile, toast the bread in a toaster or dry frying pan for 2 minutes per side, and roughly chop the peanuts with a knife. When the lentils are ready, mix the peanut butter in a bowl with a ladleful of soup until smooth, pour into the saucepan with the coconut milk and simmer over a low heat for 3 minutes, stirring.
Take off the heat for 1 minute, then whisk vigorously from bottom to top for 30 seconds: the lentils should break down into a thick, velvety soup that coats the ladle, with a few visible flecks of carrot. If too thick, loosen with 50–100 g of the reserved hot water.
Stir in the freshly squeezed lime juice, taste and adjust the seasoning with the remaining salt, 1–3 g. The soup should be thoroughly seasoned, with a clear tang; lime and peanut round out the flavour but do not add salt. Divide between two large bowls, scatter with chopped peanuts and chopped coriander and serve with the toast.

Variants and their steps remain below the recipe.

Lighter version

How the taste changes:

The soup is less creamy and has less coconut sweetness, while the peanut butter keeps its thickness and roasted flavour. Tomato, lime and chilli stand out more against this less rich base.

Unsweetened coconut milk : 100 g
Bread (baguette or country loaf) : 60 g

In step 1, heat 850 g water. In step 3, add an extra 50 g hot water at the end of cooking to make up for the reduced coconut milk; keep the chopped peanuts and lime.

Less coconut milk and bread, with the same depth of flavour from lime, chilli and fried tomato purée.

On your plate

Recipe

860 kcal · protein 36 g · carbs 81 g · fat 41 g

Quantities per person

75 g Red lentils
100 g Unsweetened coconut milk
20 g Smooth peanut butter, 100% peanuts
10 g Unsalted roasted peanuts
15 g Double-concentrated tomato purée
70 g Carrots
40 g Yellow onions
5 g Garlic
6 g Fresh ginger
7.5 g Fresh red chillies
5 g Sunflower oil, for frying or as a neutral oil
1 g Ground cumin
0.75 g Turmeric
325 g Water
40 g Lime
4 g Fresh coriander
50 g Bread (baguette or country loaf)
4.5 g Fine salt

Cooking tips

For a smooth soup, use 3 or 4 pulses of a hand blender in step 5 instead of whisking. Keep the remaining coconut milk in a sealed jar in the fridge for 3 days, or freeze in an ice-cube tray, ready to make the soup again during the week. Alternatively, make a double batch straight away for a snack two days later. To take away in a leakproof container, cool quickly in shallow containers, refrigerate, keep chilled during transport and eat within 48 hours. Reheat to a simmer, stirring with a little water, as lentils thicken on standing. Keep the bread, peanuts and coriander separate so they stay crisp and fresh. For more heat, warm 5 g oil with a pinch of chilli flakes for 20 seconds and pour over the bowls just before serving.

Equipment : kettle, fine sieve, 20 cm saucepan with a lid, grater with coarse and fine holes, whisk, ladle, hand blender (optional)

Inspired by West African groundnut soup with tomato, ginger, chilli and peanuts, and coconut milk dals; a quick pareve version made with red lentils.

Hearty red lentil soup with coconut and peanuts

Method

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On your plate

Recipe

Cooking tips

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