Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 2 poblano peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded and stemmed (see method below)
- 1 quart vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
- 3 cups purified water
- 1.5 cups black or green lentils
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
- 1 large carrot, finely chopped or grated
- 3–4 cloves garlic, pressed or finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried mexican oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sea salt (more or less to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon course black pepper
- Optional: Any greens you’d like to add, look for something in-season and a good price at the store. I used spinach in mine
- Garnish: Cilantro and/or raw pumpkin seeds
Instructions
- Spread the lentils out on a large sheet tray and pick out any debris (aka anything that doesn’t look like a lentil.) Rinse and drain well before using.
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot. Add the chopped onion, carrot and celery and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, cumin, oregano and pinch of both salt and black pepper to the pot. Stir and let cook another 3-5 minutes until the mixture is well combined and very fragrant. Be careful not to burn the garlic–turn the heat down if necessary.
- Add the bay leaf, rest of the salt and pepper, stock, 2 cups water and soaked, rinsed lentils to the pot and bring to a full boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. The amount of salt you need will depend on what type of stock you use; start with one teaspoon and add more later to taste if desired. Let the pot simmer for about an hour or until the lentils are soft. Discard the bay leaf before pureeing and serving.
- While the soup simmers, roast and peel your poblano peppers. You can do this right on top of your gas stove, or under your broiler. Char each side of the pepper until they are completely black. Once charred, put the peppers in a glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let steam for 20 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Peel all of the char off of the peppers (a paper towel works well for this), then seed and stem the peppers. You’ll be left with the delicious roasted green flesh of the peppers. The black charred part should be completely discarded as it contains carcinogens, however the roasted flesh is extremely good for you. (This, by the way, is the same way you can make your own roasted red peppers at home.)
- Once the lentils are soft, puree half of the soup with the two roasted peppers in a large high speed blender, then add back to the pot. Use an extra cup of purified water to blend or thin out the soup if needed. You can also do this in batches in any blender or food processor. Caution: hot liquid expands when blended, so be very careful and work in small batches if you’re using a regular blender or food processor. A Vitamix can handle larger hot batches, but always be mindful when working with hot soup.
- If waiting longer than one hour to serve, leave the soup pot on the stove but turn the burner to the lowest setting. You can leave it on the stove for 2-4 hours. If it gets too thick, just add another cup of water or stock and sprinkle of salt. This recipe is really flexible.
- Optional: Add one handful per person of chopped greens, like spinach or kale, to piping hot soup a few minutes before serving.
- Store in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator up to 5 days, or freeze.
