After a bit of a hiatus, I’m back! I spent the past three months on the road for work, jumping from Washington, D.C. to Chapel Hill to New York to Philadelphia to D.C. again.

History archives are not always located in cities known for their fine dining (a week in Columbia, South Carolina a few years ago was particularly grim). So it was a stroke of good luck that the resources I needed were located in good food cities. But after a few months straight of eating out–even at wonderful places–restaurant food started to have a certain sameness to it. And given the state of my Airbnbs’ kitchens, what little cooking I was doing was more tried-and-true than try-new-things.

So, when I got home a few weeks ago, I was desperate for food that was new and surprising but also healing and comforting after many meals out and many months away. So I cracked open Yotam Ottolenghi’s new cookbook (a Christmas present from my parents) and gave this recipe a try.

I loved it– loved it. And really, I shouldn’t have been surprised. The record shows I love a good lentil soup. I have always been a fiend for coconut. Nothing gets me going like tomatoes. And I habitually triple the quantity of cilantro and ginger in recipes.

In this recipe, all of these flavors blend beautifully, yet somehow also remain distinct. The tomatoes and coconut still taste like tomatoes and coconut, but they also work together to make a soup that is as creamy as a typical tomato soup–but without the butter or cream. The cilantro and ginger come on strong in every bite, but they also act as an excellent base for the lentils. And so on.

And, in the rush to get my life together after returning home (sorting through mail! doing laundry! adulting!), I was extra thankful that this soup took less than 40 minutes to throw together–something you don’t need to have been on the road for months to appreciate.

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Previously:
One year ago: Roasted Blood Orange Compote (make it before citrus season ends!)
Two years ago: Chicken Tagine with Olives and Preserved Lemons
Three years ago: Truffled Kettle Corn

And for the Australians in the crowd:
Six months ago: Pork Tenderloin with Plum Barbecue Sauce
1.5 years ago: Ratatouille (for the very last of your summer veg!)
2.5 years ago: End-of-Summer Panzanella (a perennial favorite)

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Curried Lentil, Coconut, and Tomato Soup

Adapted for quantity from Ottolengi’s Simple
Serves 6

Ingredients

3 tablespoons coconut oil or neutral oil (such as canola)
2 onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 garlic cloves, minced
5-inch (12-cm) piece of ginger, peeled and minced (to make a heaping half cup)
1 1/2 cups (300g) red lentils
1 28-ounce (794g) can diced tomatoes
2 1/2 cups (50g) cilantro stems, finely chopped, plus 1/2 cup (10g) leaves, to garnish (all of this from about 1 massive or 2 medium bunches of cilantro)
5 cups (1200mL) water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 13.5-ounce (400mL) cans light coconut milk (if you use regular instead of light, be sure to open the cans, pour them into a bowl, and whisk the solids and milk to combine before adding to the soup; you won’t have to do this with light coconut milk,) divided

Instructions

Put the oil in the bottom of a soup pot or Dutch oven and place over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 8-10 minutes, or until onion is soft, translucent, and starting to caramelize.

Add the curry powder, pepper flakes, garlic, and ginger, and continue to fry for 2 more minutes, stirring continuously.

Add the lentils, stir for an additional minute, then add the tomatoes, cilantro stems, water, salt, and coconut milk, reserving about 1/2 cup (125mL) of the milk for garnishing the soup at the end. Bring to a boil, then decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 25 minutes, until the lentils are soft but still holding their shape. Add a little bit of water–up to 3/4 cup (175mL)–at the end if your soup is thicker than you’d like.

Ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle with remaining coconut oil, garnish with cilantro, and serve.

Notes

I have made this–twice now!–as a soup. But I can also see reducing the amount of water slightly–to, say, 3-4 cups–and serving it more stew-like, with a side of rice and/or a piece of naan. If you try this, report back!

This freezes extraordinarily well. Just mix the remaining coconut milk and cilantro through the soup before freezing.