Simple doesn’t have to mean boring—case in point, this red lentil soup that’s topped with crispy garlic chips and chile-infused oil and that comes together in just about 40 minutes. Preserved lemon, a pantry superstar if there ever was one, adds a brightness that cuts through the rich, stewy lentils. Because preserved lemons can vary in salt and acidity depending on the brand, you’ll want to adjust the amount of salt and lemon accordingly. As for the herbs, dill and basil work especially well in this soup, but you can use any tender herbs you have on hand. And if the toppers feel too involved for a Wednesday night (I get it!), feel free to spoon over a bit of your favorite store-bought chili crisp instead. —Zaynab Issa
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What you’ll need
Lodge 6-Quart Dutch Oven
$133 $80 At Amazon
Ladle
$27 At Amazon
Slotted Spoon
$11 At Amazon
Small Saucepan
$155 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
4–6 servings
Ingredients
soup
2
2
4
1
2
¾
½
3
8
2
Garlic chips and Assembly
2
4
1
1
½
Preparation
Soup
Step 1
Heat 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium. Cook 2 medium onions, chopped, 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped, and one 2" piece ginger, scrubbed, finely chopped, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, 6–8 minutes. Add 2 tsp. ground cumin and ¾ tsp. ground turmeric and stir to coat onions. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Add ½ preserved lemon, rinsed, seeds removed, finely chopped, and 3 Tbsp. double-concentrated tomato paste and cook, stirring often, until tomato paste is darkened in color, about 4 minutes.
Step 2
Add 8 cups good-quality low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth and 2 cups red lentils, rinsed, and bring to a boil, skimming foam from surface as needed. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until lentils are very tender and soup is almost creamy, 35–45 minutes.
Garlic chips and Assembly
Step 3
While the lentils are cooking, heat 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a small saucepan over medium. Cook 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, stirring often, until golden and starting to crisp, about 3 minutes; remove pan from heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer garlic chips to paper towels, leaving oil behind. Lightly season garlic chips with kosher salt. Stir 1 tsp. Aleppo-style pepper into infused oil in pan and set aside.
Step 4
Remove soup from heat and stir in 1 cup torn mixed tender herbs (such as basil, dill, cilantro, and/or parsley). If soup is too thick, thin with water. Taste and add up to ½ preserved lemon, rinsed, seeds removed, finely chopped, if desired (you may find the soup lemony enough as it is). Season with more salt if needed.
Step 5
Ladle soup into bowls. Top with garlic chips and more herbs and drizzle over reserved pepper oil.
How would you rate Red Lentil Soup With Preserved Lemon and Crispy Garlic?
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Reviews (25)
Back to TopI'm always sort of skeptical of lentils, but this is a totally solid soup that pleased basically everyone in the house. And easy to make with what I had on hand (including homemade preserved lemons which I've struggled a bit to find uses for). Nice and pretty simple to throw together--
ML Character
Los Angeles
1/1/2024
great recipe. I like a little spice, so I added some bomba calabrian chili paste to mine with the tomato paste and was happy I did! this also makes quite a lot so there's plenty to freeze, but the recipe could easily be cut in half.
Molly
Boise
12/12/2023
I used green lentils which was fine. I expected it to be more flavourful the next day. I did although not use double concentrated tomato paste, only had regular on hand. I used 3/4 cup of fresh dill & fresh cilantro for the balance. I substituted sweet paprika for the allepo pepper. For the broth, I did half vegetable bullion & half beef bone. I plan to take my Cuisinart hand blender to the remaining soup before freezing into lunch portions. It was an easy weeknight meal. I would make it again but be sure to use red lentils & double concentrated paste.
CTPassat
BEacon,
5/28/2023
We made this last night following the recipe exactly. It was delish! Even my 5 and 8 year old children approved. I didn’t add quite the full preserved lemon, but probably about 3/4 of it and it really brightened the soup. Thank you!
Adrienne
Lodi, CA
3/12/2023
This is a flavorful way to cook red lentils. I used cilantro as the herb. I removed the stems but didn't chop it. It would have been better chopped, but that's my only complaint. I didn't add the tomato paste & used sumac instead of Aleppo-style pepper because I'm avoiding nightshades. The flavor is really good. I will definitely make this again. I used to print out bon appetit recipes and it was somewhat frustrating that they take up so much paper. Now, I just put my laptop on the kitchen counter & read the recipe online. Don't have to print anything.
Anne
Portland, Oregon
2/24/2023
YUM. I used about half a jar of New York Shuk preserved lemon paste instead of whole preserved lemons, and we ended up stirring some sour cream into our bowls and it was great.
Annie
Boulder, CO
2/20/2023
The preserved lemon and flavoured oil take this recipe from ordinary lentil soup to a real ‘dish’. My preserved lemons were on the smaller side so I used a whole one and I think that was a good choice because the flavour really pings through. I used a combo of Kashmiri pepper and smoked paprika for the oil. I fried up the garlic, onions, ginger and tomato concentrate as per recipe, then put it in the slow cooker overnight with the stock (used homemade veg stock with nutritional yeast added) and red lentils. Perfect!
Jess HB
Melbourne, Australia
2/14/2023