Sunday's Soup

Chicago is a very ethnically diverse city and I love it! Within walking distance of my home, I have an abundance of restaurants where I can have everything from Thai, to Greek, Lebanese, Serbian, Italian, and one of my favorites Middle Eastern Cuisine.  I was in the mood for something with a little Middle Eastern flair today, so our soup is

Roasted Red Pepper and Lentil Soup

The Ingredients;
2 large red peppers
3 carrots, sliced
3 stalks of celery finely chopped
1 large Spanish onion, finely chopped
2 1/2 cups of split red lentils
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of ground turmeric
1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons of olive oil
10 cups of water or chicken broth
2 large Knorr vegetable bouillon cubes(omit if using chicken broth)
salt and black pepper to taste
Ground Sumac for garnish
Labna(a middle eastern yogurt), Sour Cream or Creme Fraiche for garnish

To begin, we first need to roast the red peppers. I like to roast mine on top of the stove.

 Lay the peppers directly on the grates and allow to blacken. Please be sure to pay attention and not leave them as you don't want these to catch on fire!!!! Turn throughout with tongs. Mine have a rubber handle which keeps the handle from getting over heated while I'm roasting the peppers.

Once they are completely blackened, place them in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for at least 15 minutes. This will allow them to steam. After sitting for 15 minutes, you can now remove the blackened skin. Cut off the stem and remove the seeds. Place in a food processor and puree. Set aside.

Heat oil in large pot and add onions, celery, carrots and garlic. Saute on a medium flame until the onion is tender, about 10 minutes.

Add lentils, water, bouillon cubes, spices and roasted red pepper puree. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook until lentils and vegetables are tender about 20 minutes.  Add salt and black pepper to taste.

Garnish with ground sumac and Labna if you can find it. If not, sour cream, Greek yogurt or creme fraiche will work just fine. Sumac is a wonderful spice. It has a very tangy, almost lemony taste. It's also wonderful on rice and can be used in many other recipes.
I hope you enjoy the soup as much as I do if you give it a try!
I hope you are having a lovely weekend.
Rhonda