Curried Green Lentil Soup with Browned Butter

Fall in Upper Left, USA has been absolutely gorgeous this year. We've been blessed with picturesque fog in the place of our characteristic drizzle. The sun continues to shine even as frost debuts over our front lawn in the morning.

Fall in the Northwest means, to me, bundling up with multiple scarves, putting pumpkin and maple in everything, cozy evenings indoors, and TONS of thick, hearty soup!

This gem comes to you as an adaptation from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Every Day cookbook. I absolutely love her take on whole food cooking. She makes great use of legumes, all kinds of vegetables, eggs, goat's cheese, nuts, and a wide variety of herbs and spices. This book is definitely one to check out, or gift to your favorite foodie this holiday season.

This recipe perfectly marries green lentils, coconut milk, spicy Indian curry, and browned butter for a meal that is nourishing, warming, and satisfying on all counts.

The best part is that you probably have most of these ingredients in your kitchen already. If you're anything like me, that's a huge selling point in getting me to test a new recipe.

Curried Green Lentil Soup with Browned Butter serves 4-6

green lentils, curry powder, coconut milk, chives

 

• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, ghee, or coconut oil
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1.5 cups green lentils, picked over, rinsed
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 Tbsp Indian curry powder
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• fine grain sea salt
• 1 bunch chives, chopped

Method

Combine 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a large pot over medium-high heat. Sit frequently until onions soften, a couple minutes. Add vegetable broth and lentils, cover and simmer until lentils are soft, about 25-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, warm 3 Tbsp butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and let it brown. When it begins to smell fragrant and nutty, stir in curry powder and saute until the spices become fragrant, less than a minute.

When the lentils have finished cooking, remove from heat, stir in coconut milk and 1/4 tsp sea salt, and puree using an immersion blender, leaving a bit of texture. Stir in half of the browned butter, taste and add more salt if needed.

Serve drizzled with remaining browned butter and a heavy hand of chives.

Enjoy!