Red Lentil Soup

A Mediterranean recipe from Tuba Ozkan-Haller, one of the faculty in the oceanography group at OSU. You can make this soup by slow cooking in a pot, but using a pressure cooker is much faster. The red lentils give the soup a cheery orange color.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp canola or olive oil

3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 medium yellow onion

2-3 carrots

1 can tomatoes, preferably organic and in a non-BPA can (e.g. Muir Glen brand)

2 cups of red lentils

4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth, preferably low salt

black pepper to taste

1) Chop onions into coarse pieces, peel and chop carrots into chunks. In a large soup pot or presure cooker, saute chopped garlic, onion and carrot pieces in oil over medium heat for a few minutes, until onions turn transparent and vegetables begin to brown.

2) Add canned tomatoes, lentils and and broth, and stir all ingredients well, scraping the bottom to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the cooker or pot.

3) Cook in a pressure cooker at high pressure for about 12 minutes, or simmer in the pot, stirring occasionally, until lentils are soft (30-40 minutes).

4) After soup is cooked, use a hand blender to make a smooth soup. Add a bit of water if the soup looks too thick.

Serves 3-4