Smoky Red Lentil & Roasted Red Pepper Soup

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A thick, velvety lentil soup built from pantry staples and a jar of roasted red peppers. There is no cream, egg or pasta in it, so it freezes solid and comes back exactly as it went in — no splitting, no watery layer. Make the full batch on Sunday, freeze it in portions, and you have six weeknight dinners that reheat in about ten minutes.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 cups dried red split lentils, rinsed
• 1 jar (12 oz) roasted red peppers, drained and roughly chopped
• 1 can (14 oz) chopped tomatoes
• 7 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste

• 1 lemon, juiced

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook for 8 minutes, stirring often, until soft and just starting to colour. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
2. Stir in the tomato paste, smoked paprika and cumin and cook for 60–90 seconds, until the paste darkens a shade and smells toasty — this is what gives the frozen soup its depth.
3. Add the rinsed lentils, chopped roasted peppers, canned tomatoes, stock and 1 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer, partly covered, for 25–30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes so the lentils don't catch on the bottom. The lentils should collapse completely.
4. Blend until smooth with an immersion blender, or leave it half-blended for texture. Stir in half the lemon juice, then taste and add salt and more lemon as needed. Serve now, or cool for freezing.
5. To freeze: cool the soup to room temperature within about an hour (set the pot in a sink of cold water to speed it up). Ladle into freezer bags or containers in 1 1/2–2 cup portions, leaving 1 inch of headspace for expansion. Squeeze the air out of bags, lay them flat to freeze, then stack once solid. Label and freeze for up to 3 months.
6. To reheat from frozen on the stove: drop the frozen block into a saucepan with 2–3 tbsp water, cover, and set over medium-low heat for 8–10 minutes, breaking it up with a spoon as it loosens. Once melted, raise to medium and heat to a full simmer, about 3 minutes more, stirring so it doesn't scorch.
7. To reheat in the microwave: microwave the frozen portion in a covered bowl on high for 3 minutes, stir and break up the block, then continue in 90-second bursts, stirring each time, until steaming throughout (about 6–7 minutes total). Stir in a squeeze of fresh lemon before serving to wake the flavour back up.

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Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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