Red Lentil Soup uses red lentils and canned tomatoes and chicken broth.

The theme for April for Recipe Redux is to go through our pantry, freezer or refrigerator and see what treasures we find.  In going through my pantry, I found some red lentils, canned tomatoes, and low sodium chicken broth .

 I love red lentils. They cook faster than the French green or brown lentils. All lentils are loaded with nutrition, particularly protein, fiber, folate, thiamin, phosphorus and iron.

If you haven’t done a lot of bean cooking from “scratch,” this is an easy recipe to make. There is no pre-soaking of the beans and it all cooks up in about 30 minutes. It also uses one of my favorite spices, smoked paprika.

Red Lentil Soup

1 large sweet onion, peeled and diced

2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into coins

3 stalks celery with leaves, diced

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

32 ounces (4 cups) low sodium chicken broth

1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes

1 cup dry red lentils (green or brown lentils may be substituted)

1 tsp. curry powder

1 tsp. black pepper

½ tsp smoked paprika

Sauté onion, celery, carrots, and garlic in oil over medium-high in large dutch oven until onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes, lentils, and seasonings. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

Makes 4 large servings (about 1-1/2 cups each).

Nutrition Information per Serving:

297 calories, 6.2 g total fat, 1.1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 9.1 g dietary fiber, 19.0 g protein, and 167 mg sodium. One serving of this recipe is an excellent source of fiber and protein.

Cost per Serving : $1.82

Pricing Note: all ingredients were at “regular” prices. Look for red lentils in ethnic supermarkets.

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