101 Cookbook’s Lentil Soup with Curried Brown Butter

Since the weather is cool, I tend to gravitate toward warm, cozy soups.The warmth of this soup is intensified with the deep flavors of the curried brown butter and spicy kick from the curry and red pepper flakes. It’s amazingly delicious and I could not recommend it more. Even people who aren’t big lentil or curry fans found this soup tasty.

My slight modifications and recommendations:

  • I used whatever lentils I had on hand (brownish). You don’t need to go out of your way to get green lentils unless you just want to.
  • I didn’t use the coconut milk. I didn’t think it needed it, so I subbed a bit more broth in it’s place.
  • Serve it with a crusty bread or naan. Delicious!
Lentil Soup with Curried Brown Butter

Image by 101 Cookbooks

 

Lentil Soup with Curried Brown Butter

Prep time: 5 min – Cook time: 45 min. Serves 4 to 6

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 6 cups good-tasting vegetable broth or water
  • 1 1/2 cups green (or any color) lentils
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon Indian curry powder
  • Fine-grain sea salt
  • 1 bunch fresh chives, minced (optional)
  1. Combine the 2 tablespoons butter, onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a large soup pot over medium heat, stirring regularly, until the onions soften, a couple minutes. Add the vegetable broth and lentils and simmer, covered, until the lentils are tender. This usually takes 20 to 30 minutes, but can take as long as 50 minutes.
  2. In the meantime, warm the 3 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and let it brown. When it starts to smell nutty and fragrant, stir in the curry powder and sauté until the spices are fragrant, less than a minute.

When the lentils are finished cooking, remove from the heat, stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt, and puree with an immersion blender. You can leave the soup a bit chunky if you like, or puree until it is perfectly smooth.
  3. Stir in the spiced butter, taste, and add more salt, if needed, typically a couple of teaspoons if you used water instead of a salted broth. Serve drizzled sprinkled with chives and crusty bread or naan.

Recipe modified from a recipe from Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson, copyright © 2011. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.

 

Nutrition for 1/4th of the recipe (approx): 401 cal, 15g fat, 47g carb, 22 fiber, 19g protein