2medium carrotssliced ¼ inch thick (about 1 cup sliced carrots)
4cupsvegetable broth
3cupswater
1teaspoonsaltsee notes
½cauliflower headcut into small florets
1 15ozcan diced tomatoes
1small dried Thai chili pepper(or ¼ - ½ teaspoons red pepper flakes, to taste)
Juice of ½ lemon
3tablespoonscilantro leaveschopped
Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot, and add the chopped onion. Saute for 3 minutes, or until the onion starts to turn translucent. Add the spices - cumin, coriander, turmeric, and cinnamon, and saute for 1 minute.
Add the carrots, vegetable broth, water, salt, and lentils. Bring to a boil, and then cover and let simmer for 35 minutes. Check on the soup after 20 minutes to make sure there is enough liquid in there. If it seems too dry, add some water, a half a cup at a time.
After 30 minutes, when the lentils are fully cooked and are just starting to fall apart, add the can of diced tomatoes and the cauliflower florets. Cover and cook for another 5-10 minutes, until the cauliflower is fully cooked to your liking.
Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice and cilantro leaves. Taste the soup and season with more salt if you think it needs more.
Notes
Other tips for making this Moroccan Lentil Soup:
Take the extra few minutes to sauté the onion and the spices before adding the broth to the soup.
Double check the cooking time on your lentils package. Adjust cooking time if needed (read the blog post for details)
If you don't love spicy things, skip the hot pepper
Use fresh lemon juice, it gives the soup a fresher taste.
I used sodium-free vegetable broth and I needed 1 teaspoon of salt for this soup. If you are using regular broth or lower-sodium broth, you might need less salt. Go easy on the salt first and add more later if you think you need it.