Egyptian Lentil Soup

This recipe is adapted from Zooba, an Egyptian fast casual restaurant chain that also has a location in New York City. Use red, yellow or even brown lentils to make this super-simple soup. Skip green or black lentils, which won't soften enough to puree smoothly.

Ingreadient:

• 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
• ½ cup sliced carrots
• ½ cup diced tomato
• ⅓ cup sliced yellow onion
• 2 tablespoons sliced garlic
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon ground pepper
• 2 ½ cups yellow or red lentils
• 9 cups water

Directions :

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add carrots, tomato, onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato has broken down and is starting to stick to the bottom of the pan, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, cumin, salt and pepper; cook, stirring frequently, until the tomato paste is browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Add lentils and water; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are soft and the soup is thickened, about 25 minutes.
2. Puree the soup using an immersion blender or in batches in a regular blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids).