Reconsidering the lentil: for Laura: red lentil soup

There are a few posts about lentils on this site. Not many, but some. Almost always about lentil soups that I've made. It's one of those "truisms" that eating lentils makes you feel like you're doing something virtuous, and you are. It's sort of like voting: you SHOULD be doing this, it's the right thing to do, and ultimately, it's not all that hard to do.
Lentils are the "fast food" of beans. And red lentils are the speed demons of lentils. You've had them, if you've eaten Indian food, in the form of "dhal" or "dahl" (I've seen both spellings, but I think the first one is correct). They also make a wonderful, thick soup, sort of like split pea, but with a bit of exoticism that will make you feel truly creative.
Let's face it: when you make split pea soup, you're looking for ham in it. You are - I KNOW you are. But somehow, eating an Asian based lentil soup doesn't bring up that same sense of "where's the meat?" And you won't miss this here, in what is a vegan soup, that can become a vegetarian soup, with some condiments, and in any event, is an easy, filling meal. Cheap too.

You will need a few tablespoons of vegetable oil, a couple of chopped onions, and a big soup carrot, also chopped. You also will want 3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed.

For the spices, you will need - here she goes again - a couple of teaspoons of coriander seeds, and one of caraway. Mix them together, and toast them in a dry pan, over a medium heat, until you begin to smell the spice scent. Then pour em off into that grinder I've been harping about (Incidentally, I am out of coriander seeds. After Buddha only knows how many years. Murphy's law being what it is, after I replace them, I bet I won't use them for another kalpa).

You also need 1.5 cups of red lentils, which you can buy just about everywhere, but if you don't find them, use yellow or green split peas. Finally, 4 cups of vegetable stock and 2 cups of water.

Here is one of Annalena's admitted digressions: I am NOT a fan of vegetable stock. I have never found one I liked, even the ones I make myself. But water does not have enough "gravitas" for this soup, and chicken stock would lose the flavor of the lentils, which are delicate. My compromise is to cut the written six cups of stock to 4 and 2 of water. Proceed as you like though.

Now, that isn't a long list of ingredients, and it isn't a very expensive list, especially if you beg/borrow/steal/barter some spices from your spendthrift cook friends who happen to have coriander and caraway in the house.

Okay, heat up the oil in a pot, and add the carrots and the onions. A bit of salt will help you here, as you cook them, over medium heat, until the onion begins to soften . (My recipe said ten minutes, I was done in six. I wonder if I just have a fast stove). Toss in the spices and the garlic, and cook , stirring, for another couple of minutes until the spice scent "blooms," and you KNOW it's there. Then, add the lentils, and the broth and water. Give it all a stir, cover the pot, lower the heat and go away for twenty minutes.

My recipe called for pureeing this. And you can do that. But... if you are trying to be virtuous and good, know that pureeing it will reduce the dietary fiber because you're breaking it up. Arguably, pureeing it makes a prettier soup, but that's a matter of aesthetic judgement to which Annalena refuses to be a part. For me, I take the back of my spoon, and crush the lentils against the pot until I have a mix of smooth and rough

THERE WILL BE NO COMMENTS ABOUT HOW THIS REFLECTS ANNALENA'S SEX LIFE.

Taste it, and add salt if you want.

At this point, you have a vegan dish. If you like, some full fat yogurt, with some green herbs sliced in, is nice. It's not necessary.

You'll get a hefty six cups of soup out of this. I haven't figured out the calories, but it sure sounds virtuous to me.

And this, as the title says, is for my friend Laura, who loves lentil soups. GO GIRL. You want some coriander? You want some caraway? Ring my bell.