Lentil Soup with Lemon and Turmeric
This is our favorite lentil soup recipe. I make this soup with lentils, carrots, turmeric, and fresh lemon whenever we are in need of some healthy comfort food. It’s savory, satisfying, and utterly delicious. I like quite a bit of fresh lemon in this soup and actually serve the soup with slices of lemon. This adds even more lemony flavor and shows that lemon was added to the soup.
This is our favorite lentil soup recipe. I make this soup with lentils, carrots, turmeric, and fresh lemon whenever we are in need of some healthy comfort food. It’s savory, satisfying, and utterly delicious. I like quite a bit of fresh lemon in this soup and actually serve the soup with slices of lemon. This adds even more lemony flavor and shows that lemon was added to the soup.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 2 cups finely chopped onion (1 medium onion)
- 1 1/2 cups chopped carrot (2 large carrots)
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic (3 cloves)
- 2 cups (12 ounces) lentils picked and rinsed
- 8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 cups shredded kale or spinach
- 1 to 2 lemons
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs like parsley or dill optional
- fine sea salt to taste
- Carbohydrate 1.4926847220772 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 1.51595611158407 g
- Fiber 1.27951390680152 g
- Protein 3.07687749996218 g
- Saturated Fat 0.25111444450955 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (300g)
- Sodium 472.683277777511 mg
- Sugar 0.213170815275681 g
- Trans Fat 0.0612079444551749 g
- Calories 33 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat the oil in a large pot (like a Dutch oven) over medium heat. Add the onions, carrot, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and cook, stirring occasionally until they are softened and starting to smell sweet, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cumin, coriander, black pepper, and turmeric and cook for 30 seconds.
- Stir in the lentils and broth. Increase the heat to high and bring just to a boil. Taste then adjust with salt (we add between 1/2 and 1 teaspoon depending on how well seasoned the broth is). Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the lentils are tender, 35 to 40 minutes.
- Uncover the pot and stir in the kale (or spinach) and cook, uncovered, another 5 minutes. Take the soup off of the heat, and then stir in the juice of half a lemon and the fresh herbs. Taste the soup, and then season with additional salt and/or lemon juice. (I like quite a bit of lemon.)
- Serve or if you prefer the soup to be blended, use an immersion blender to blend until your desired consistency. Alternatively, you can use a stand blender to blend all or part of the soup.
Adapting Volumes
Scaling this recipe requires adjusting the liquid ratio carefully. Doubling the lentils demands more than double the broth because larger batches trap steam differently and absorb more liquid during a prolonged simmer. When halving the batch, reduce the initial cooking oil proportionally to avoid a greasy surface film, but keep the surface area of the pot relatively wide to maintain steady evaporation.
Chemical Flavor Reactions
Ground turmeric contains curcumin, a fat-soluble pigment that releases its earthy aroma and golden hue most effectively when bloomed directly in warm oil during the initial spice-toasting phase. Adding acid like fresh lemon juice late in the cooking process prevents the cellular walls of the lentils from hardening prematurely, ensuring the legumes soften fully before the bright citrus compounds integrate.
Thermal Control and Texture
Sweating the onions and carrots over medium heat for five to seven minutes breaks down their rigid cellular structures, releasing natural sugars that caramelize slightly. Simmering the pot partially covered maintains a gentle convection current that circulates heat evenly without boiling the delicate greens into mush when stirred in during the final five minutes.
