Aunt Sue's Red Lentil Soup

My Aunt Sue is a phenomenal chef; every meal I've ever had of hers has been delicious and healthy! I was excited to receive an email of one of her soups and so my cousin, Megan, and I decided to make it on Tuesday night. We made it a little spicier than we were expecting, well, it was sort of an accidental spiciness because I put in a little too much chili flakes. Luckily, the heat wasn't too much and it still tasted great! We enjoyed the soup with a fresh loaf of garlic French bread and a salad. I had some more of the soup for lunch the following day. Sue usually adds the juice of one lemon to her soup but we didn't have one, well Megan went to get one, but we forgot to use it. Still it tasted great! Also, some ideas for garnish are cilantro or even some grated parmesan.

Aunt Sue's Red Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

Olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, diced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 heaping teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

2 teaspoons chili pepper flakes

1 quart chicken stock

2 cups water

1 cup red lentils

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

Directions:

1. In a large pot, saute the diced onions with olive oil until they are translucent. Add in the garlic about half way through.

2. Stir in the tomato paste, cumin, salt, pepper and chili flakes and saute for a couple minutes.

3. Add in the chicken stock, water, lentils and diced carrots and simmer on low for about 30 minutes.

4. Using an immerssion blender or food processor, grind the soup. Be sure to not grind the soup too much, the soup should still be chunky.