Peanut Curry Lentil Soup
Lots of recipes fly around on email between my mother, brother, sister and me. This Peanut Curry Lentil Soup came from mom and it immediately grabbed my attention. I made it for the first time as the weather started to turn this past fall, and then made it a couple of times since.
Just last week, some friends and I resurrected our “annual” soup contest (it had been four years!) and this soup immediately came to mind as one I thought would be perfect for the competition. It’s got all of the elements and manages to taste complex while being simple to make.
I made some changes to the original recipe for Peanut Curry Lentil Soup that was posted by Gimme Some Oven. I thought theirs was good but for me, all of the flavors needed to be punched up a bit. So I added a little more red curry paste, peanut butter, lime and a pinch of brown sugar. These changes are reflected in the recipe below. I have used spinach instead of kale and lite coconut milk instead of full fat but I think that I prefer it with the kale (which retains some of its texture) and the full fat coconut milk (which makes the soup rich and creamy). This soup thickens up over night, which I loved, but if you prefer a thinner soup just add a bit of water when reheating. Enjoy!
Peanut Curry Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tbls olive oil
- 1 med yellow onion diced
- 1 yellow pepper diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 6 c vegetable broth
- 1.25 lbs sweet potatoes peeled and diced into ¾-inch cubes
- 3/4 c brown lentils
- 3 Tbls Thai red curry paste
- 1 15-oz can full-fat coconut milk
- 2 c chopped fresh kale (I chopped pretty small) or spinach
- 1/4 c creamy peanut butter
- 2 limes, squeezed approx 1/4 c
- sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
- 1/2 Tbls brown sugar to taste
- chopped fresh cilantro and finely-chopped peanuts optional toppings
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant.
- Add the vegetable broth, sweet potatoes, lentils, curry paste and stir to combine. Continue cooking until the soup reaches a simmer. Then reduce heat to medium-low (or whatever temperature is needed to maintain a low simmer), cover, and cook for about 20 to 25 minutes or until both the lentils and sweet potatoes are tender.
- Stir in the coconut milk, kale (or spinach), peanut butter and lime juice until completely combined. Taste and season the soup with salt (about 2-3 tsp) and pepper and a bit of brown sugar if, like me, you want to punch up the sweetness ever so slightly.
- Serve warm, garnished with cilantro and chopped peanuts, if desired.