Tomato and Red Lentil Bisque and a Cookbook Review

I have a new favorite soup.  Since posting my cajun shrimp soup recipe in February we’ve had that soup almost a dozen times and I usually make way more than the recipe makes because we love it for leftovers too.  I’ve moved on though.  Seriously, this is now my favorite soup.  Good news, I don’t have to share with the husband because he doesn’t like lentils.  Bad news, I have to share with a toddler that is also crazy about this soup 😀

A while ago I was sent a cookbook to review, Whitewater Cooks with Friends.  Whitewater is a ski resort that’s just over the mountains from where we live, so I couldn’t resist taking a look and I’m so glad I did.  Just from appearances, this book is gorgeous.  It’s filled with amazing full page pictures which I absolutely love.  Obviously I’m a visual person when it comes to food 😀

I am a little disappointed that the book contains a lot of seafood recipes though.  Because of where we live and the price of seafood, we don’t enjoy it very often, but all the recipes do look delicious.  But I was happy that there were a few vegetarian options, and a lot of recipes that are easily adapted.  And if this recipe is any indication of what the rest are like, I really can’t wait to try more!

The small note at the top of this recipe says “Tana is probably the most vivacious person you could ever meet and her flavorful personality shines through in the his soup… she loves it so much that she says she could bathe in it!”  I couldn’t agree with Tana more.  Did I mention this is my new favorite soup?

Another note about the soup, I made it on a gorgeous sunny day and I was thinking about what bad timing it was because I wasn’t particularly in the mood for soup on such a warm day but it was incredibly refreshing.  It was really perfect for a warm spring day, so don’t hesitate to try it even though it’s warming up.  I served mine with some extremely fast 100% whole wheat naan bread that I’ll share the recipe for soon!

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Tana’s Tomato and Red Lentil Bisque

From Whitewater Cooks with Friends by Shelley Adams

Serves 8-10

• 2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated or minced
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 green jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
• 8 C vegetable or chicken stock
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 C red lentils
• 2 cans coconut milk(I used light)
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• the juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 C cilantro, chopped for garnish

Toast cumin seeds in a dry frying pan fora few minutes until aromatic.  Remove from the heat and grind in a mortar and pestle or in a clean coffee grinder.  Set aside

Heat oil in a large soup pot.  Add the onion, garlic, ginger, mustard seeds and jalapeno and saute for 3-5 minutes.  Add the ground cumin seeds, turmeric, coriander, cinnamon and bay leaves and continue to saute for 3-5 minutes more.  Add the tomatoes(I used pureed tomatoes as that’s all that’s left of my supply from last summer and it worked well even if it turned out more red than in the book), stock, tomato paste and red lentils and bring to a boil.  Turn down and simmer for about 60 minutes.

Add the coconut milk, stir well and return to a simmer for 20 minutes.  Remove the bay leaves, season as desired and stir in the lime juice and garnish with cilantro.  I stirred in all the cilantro just before serving and garnished with even more.

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**Disclaimer:  While I did receive this cookbook for free, I did not receive any compensation for this review.  Any opinions are 100% my own and I was not under any obligation to write a positive review.

Tagged as: bisque, cilantro, coconut, cold, cookbook review, curry, hot, lime, recipe, red lentil, soup, tomato