Ingredients

• 1.5 cups red lentil
• 1 medium onion cubed
• 3 – 4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 1 small sized carrot peeled and cubed
• 1 medium golden potato or any potato, peeled cubed
• 2 tsp. cumin powder
• 1 tsp. fine black pepper
• 1 tbsp. salt or more
• 5-6  cups of water or chicken/veggie broth
• 1 tbsps. fresh chopped parsley
• fresh squeezed lemon
• Pita Bread – optional for serving

Instructions

• Wash lentils until the water becomes almost clear after you rinse them.
• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium, add the potatoes, onions, garlic and carrots. Add cumin, salt and pepper and cook until onions become slightly translucent.
• Add lentils, and about 4-5 cups of broth or water. Make sure the lentils and veggies are fully covered.
• Boil for at least 45 minutes to an hour until the lentils have cooked down and almost melted. Taste for salt and season more if needed.
• If soup is still watery cook down to desired consistency. Add more water or broth if the soup cooks down to fast.
• At this point I like to blend some of the soup with an immersion blender (or you can use a regular blender), sometimes I blend sometimes I dont. Do what you like. I like some texture in my soup so I do half and half. If you like it smooth and creamy you can blend the whole thing.
• Top with fresh parsley, crushed redd pepper flakes and a squeeze of lemon before serving.