← Nouns Cooking · Soup Pot

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 Onion, diced
• 2 Carrot, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp Ground coriander
• 1 tbsp Tomato purée (paste)
• 300 g Red lentils, rinsed
• 80 g Dried apricots, finely chopped
• 1.25 l vegetable stock or water
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp dried mint, to serve
• 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses, to drizzle (optional)
• Salt

Method

1. Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat and cook the onion and carrots for 8–10 min, until soft and sweet.
2. Stir in the cumin, coriander and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.
3. Add the lentils, apricots and stock with a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 min, stirring now and then, until the lentils have collapsed and the apricots are soft.
4. Blend the soup until smooth, or leave it rustic if you prefer. Add a splash of water if it is too thick.
5. Stir in the lemon juice and taste for salt. Serve sprinkled with dried mint and a thin drizzle of pomegranate molasses.

Tips

• Unsulphured (brown) apricots have a deeper, toffee-like flavour; orange ones make a brighter soup.
• It is lovely chilled on a hot day too, with an extra squeeze of lemon. Check the stock is gluten-free if you need it to be.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

The Armenian Kitchen Clove Garden The Mediterranean Dish