Sometimes the best intentions don’t always lead you where you thought you’d arrive. When I saw a crate full of rainbow hued carrots at the market I of course thought: these will make a gorgeous photograph. I also thought, someone naively it turns out, that they would make a very colorful soup as well. To keep things in the saturated theme I had in mind I pulled down my jar of red lentils, and chose red onions over plain white ones.
As I cut, chopped and washed my way through the legumes and produce, I realized that working with these kinds of colors, on a bright and sunny Roman Sunday, just makes me happy. When I cut open the deep purple carrots, to reveal their banana-colored core I almost started laughing.
In my mind, I was already imagining how gorgeous a drizzle of blinding white full fat yogurt was going to look splattered across my warm bowl of orange soup.
Since I wasn’t adding any stock or meat – just water – I decided to roast the vegetables first, to give the soup added depth and flavor. And that’s when things started to get very brown.
While the sugars in the carrots and onions were caramelizing, they formed a nice brown crust. And to cut a long story short, my dream of a big bowl of orange turned into what was essentially a sludge-colored pot of lentils. Whatever orange the lentils started out with soon gave way to the blues and purples of the carrots and onions, plus the nice caramelized bits.
But looks don’t matter, right? Plus, I could still swirl my yoghurt, use my pretty plate and a handful of orange zest brightens everything up. And even though the soup wasn’t the bright bowl of sunshiny orange I had envisioned, it made me pretty happy anyway.
roast carrot + red lentil {soup}
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 6 -8
I use a mixture of cayenne pepper and garam masala because I like the contrast of slightly spicey and the cinamony sweetness of garam masala, but you can substitute other Indian spices if you prefer, or leave them out entirely.
Ingredients
- 1.5 kilos / 3 pounds carrots
- 3 red onions
- 1 bunch fresh thyme (about 3 tablespoons leaves)
- 2 cups red lentils
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- salt, pepper
- 2- 3 tablespoons garam masala
- 1/2 to 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- parsley, chopped
- orange zest from 1 orange, chopped
- yoghurt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/ 350F
- Peel the carrots and cut them into 1/2 inch rounds. Peel and cut the onions into eights. Place in a bowl, and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. and thyme.
- Cover two baking sheets with parchment, and divide the carrots and onions between the two sheets, so that they are evenly distributed in one layer.
- Place in oven, and roast until nicely browned and tender. This will take about 45 minutes to an hour. Halfway through, switch the pans, so that the bottom one is on top, and the top on the bottom.
- Place the roasted vegetables in a large pot. Add the lentils and fill the pot with water so that it comes up about an inch above the mixture. Bring to a simmer and let cook for about 45 minutes. The lentils will disintegrate and the carrots should be very tender.
- Taste and adjust for salt, and add the cayenne pepper and garum masala. Let cook for another ten minutes, then roughly puree with a hand held mixer.
- Ladle into bowls, and top with a swirl of yoghurt, parsley and chopped orange zest.
It looks wonderful. I can sense how satisfying and soothing it is. The orange and yogurt are a great touch – just what I need on this cold day.
How would it be to substitute brown lentils? I have so much! Also was waiting for an inspired use for garam masala (another example of too much in the larder). Thanks! P.S. your website is pura gioia…
Absolutely use brown lentils!!
Dear Elizabeth is there anywhere in Rome one can go for great soups?
Soups are hard to find in Rome. But Aromaticus, on Via Urbana, usually has one or two on the menu. Also, the bar on the corner of Via dei Serpenti and Via Leonina has started serving very good food. At lunch they usually have one or two soups. It’s a kind of chaotic atmosophere (it’s a bar) but when you feel like a soup and a salad it’s perfect.
It may not be orange, but it looks DELICIOUS! I’m always disappointed when my red lentils turn grey and sludgy after a slow simmer. Wish they’d stay vibrant, but I suppose that’s not the way of the lentil 🙂
Hi, Elizabeth:
Made the soup last night and it’s amazing! I stuck with just orange-coloured carrots and the soup stayed orange. Loving the heat kick of the cayenne on this cold Canadian day!
Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!
Yummy this sounds so tasty and something new to try. Thanks for sharing.
Simon