Five-Alarm Lentil Soup

Submitted by duonyte

"From The Sriracha Cookbook by Randy Clemens, which covers using the Rooster sauce from soups to desserts. This recipe is the author's homage to his firefighter grandfather. Reduce the amount of sriracha if you are uncertain of how hot you want this to be! I put the servings in as per the author, but I think it's more like 6 to 8 servings."

 

• Ready In: 45mins
• Ingredients: 17
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 red onions, chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 3⁄4 cup chili-garlic sauce, Sriracha recommended
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can stewed tomatoes (I used diced)
• 1 lb red lentil
• 8 cups vegetable stock
• salt, to taste
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• sour cream, for garnish
• chopped fresh cilantro or chopped chives, for garnish
• chili-garlic sauce, for garnish

directions

1. .Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions and carrots and saute until they begin to soften, 6 to 8 minutes.
2. Stir in the garlic, paprika, cumin, bay leaves, tomato paste and sriracha, cooking for 1 to 2 minutes, until aromatic. (You might want to start with a lesser amount of the sriracha - it is powerful stuff).
3. Add the tomatoes and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon.
4. Pour in the lentils and stock, stirring to combine. Bring to boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes, until the lentils are softened and cooked through.
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and discard the bay leaves. (I did not feel it needed either salt or pepper).
6. Ladle into bowls and garnish as desired. (I particularly like a dollop of sour cream).

Reviews

[Dienia B.]

Very good I have a cold and this is perfect ,did tone down the heat lol

 

[Dr. Jenny]

This does make a lot of soup and as another reviewer stated, it is thick and hearty. I just had some leftovers for lunch today and it tastes even better after a day in the fridge. Having read the other reviews, I used somewhat over 1/4 cup of chili garlic sauce (maybe more like 1/3?). I like things pretty spicy, but this amount was perfect for me. I can't imagine using 3/4 cup and enjoying it like that (or even being able to eat it). Otherwise, I followed the directions as stated. I garnished with cilantro. I don't like sour cream, so I subbed Greek yogurt. This soup was much enhanced by stirring a dollop of Greek yogurt into my individual bowl. I will definitely serve with Greek yogurt as a key ingredient in the future. Thanks!

 

[JackieOhNo!]

This certainly makes a lot of soup (6-8 is about right) that is thick, hearty and SPICY! I only used 1/2 cup Sriracha, and it was teetering on the edge of "too hot". The sour cream is a must to temper this. I made this exactly as posted, except I used a 14.5 oz. can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes in place of the stewed. I will definitely make this again, perhaps toning it down a little more. Made for 1-2-3 Hits Tag Game.

 

[Sharon123]

Woo doggies this was hot stuff! I didn't even use the stated amount of siracha sauce. I did make a big boo boo and accidently used red split peas instead of lentils and it took a long time to get them nice and soft. Great flavor. Must use sour cream to temper the heat factor. Thanks!