Roasted Red Pepper, Tomato and Lentil Soup with Dates and Lime

Soups figure in my kitchen year round. In addition to the comfort they provide on a cold winter's day, or relief on warmer days, they are an ideal way to serve up a healthy and delicious dose of valuable vegetable goodness. Extra produce that you may have on hand needing attention also may find the way into a pot of vegetable soup. Really soups are a blank canvas for the chef in you to explore.

One of the latest soups to grace my table was this rich and robust vegetable soup with roasted red pepper, tangy tomato and delicate red lentils, with a subtle but not understated spiciness and an underlying sweetness from dates and zestiness from lime. The layering of flavors and textures is an experience as a whole, yet each mouthful is slightly different making this soup all the more interesting and satisfying.

As with most soups, this one tastes even better the day after and it makes a good sized pot, so there will be some left for lunch or as accompaniment to the next day's dinner. Serve with crusty bread or, as I did, some quinoa flat breads with butter bean hummus and spicy avocado salsa. That recipe will be coming soon to this space.

Roasted Red Pepper, Tomato and Lentil Soup with Dates and Lime

Recipe by Lisa Turner
Published on March 16, 2015

Thick flavorful vegetable and lentil soup with sweet dried dates and roasted red peppers

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Ingredients:

2 large red bell peppers
4 to 6 sun-dried tomatoes
1 tablespoon coconut or other cooking oil
1 medium onion, diced
1-inch piece ginger root, grated or finely chopped
1 to 2 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped
1 large carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 large leek, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon paprika
2/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large tomatoes, finely chopped
2/3 cup red lentils, rinsed
4 to 6 dried dates, pitted and chopped
4 cups vegetable stock
2 teaspoons sea salt, or to taste
juice from 1 lime (2 tablespoons)

Instructions:

Begin by roasted the red peppers. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil and preheat the broiler. Move the rack up to the second highest placement. Place the whole peppers on the prepared sheet and roast under the broiler, turning the peppers every 5 minutes or so, until the skin is charred — about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, place in a medium bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for 15 minutes. When the pepper is cool enough to handle, remove the skins, stem and seeds. Roughly chop and set aside.
Meanwhile, soak the sun-dried tomatoes in 1 cup hot water for 30 minutes. Drain, reserving the soaking water, and chop. Set the tomatoes and water aside.
In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil over medium heat. When hot, add the onion to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes until softened. Add the ginger, jalapeños, carrot, celery and leek, and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables begin to soften and the onion begins to brown. Add the ground spices to the pan and stir for a minute or so, until fragrant.
Now add the fresh tomato and sun-dried tomatoes to the pan and cook for another few minutes. Stir in the lentils, dates, red peppers, reserved sun-dried tomato soaking water, and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are cooked and the vegetables are tender — 20 to 30 minutes. Add more vegetable stock or water if the soup is too thick.
Stir in the lime juice and salt and remove from the heat.
The soup can be blended for a smooth consistency if desired or leave as is for a chunky version. Garnish with thin slices of jalapeño and finely chopped dates if desired.

Makes 6 servings