Lentil Curry Soup

1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 6oz can tomato paste
6 cups vegetable broth (celery, carrots, onion, parsley, fresh basil)
1 large carrot, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
2 cups dry red lentils
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin seed or cumin powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp black pepper

Make the broth. We made it in a crockpot, with 3 carrots, 1 onion, celery, fresh parsley and fresh oregano with 8 cups of water (none of these are listed above). Cooking time was approximately 1.5 hours on high. Strain the broth to remove the vegetables. Yield was 8 cups of broth.

Return 6 cups of broth to the crockpot, and add the carrots, tomato paste, and lentils.

Saute onions, garlic, and jalapeno in the olive oil, then add to the broth. Add curry power, cumin, paprika, and black pepper. Adjust spices to taste.

Cook on high for approximately 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally, until the carrots and lentils are soft. Use a hand blender to puree approximately half the soup; leave the soup chunky.

Yields 9 cups of soup. Serve with fresh basil, salt and/or pepper to taste.

(We didn't clean out the crockpot right away; we used the remaining 2 cups of broth, pureed the vegetables, and added another onion and beans and spices to make a vegetarian chilli)

Number of Servings: 9

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user ELYMWX.