Curried red lentil soup with lemon

With record cold temperatures here in the Midwest, soothing, warm comfort food is a must! This month's Vegetarian Times is chock-full of gluten-free recipes. Vegetarian Times is not a gluten-free magazine, however, over 50% of this month's recipes happen to be gluten-free, including several pizza recipes! Vegetarian Times will label recipes as vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, low calorie and low fat. One of my favorite recipes this month is the curried lentil soup with lemon, which is vegan, dairy-free and low fat in addition to being gluten-free. It is also fantastically easy to create. I must admit, it tastes very similar to one of my favorite soups in the city, the lentil soup at Sultan's Market, and will become a regular in our house.

This soup is hearty enough for a meal, and tastes even better the next day. This nourishing soup will be easily enjoyed by vegetarians, carnivores and gluten eaters alike. I served this soup to my family with some Chébé bread rolls.

Curried red lentil soup with lemon

Ingredients:

• 2 cups red lentils, sorted and rinsed
• 1 quart low sodium vegetable broth, or meat-based if being vegetarian is not an issue
• 1 large onion, finely chopped (2 cups)
• 4 celery stalks, finely chopped (1 1/2 cups)
• 2 large carrots, finely chopped (1 1/2 cups)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (2 tsp)
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:

1. Bring the lentils, vegetable broth and 4 cups of water to a simmer in a large pot. Skim away the foam that rises to the top. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add onion, celery, carrots and garlic; simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes. Add cilantro, curry powder and cumin, and cook an additional 20 minutes or until lentils are soft. Season with salt and pepper, if desired, and stir in lemon juice. Serves six.