Curried Lentil Soup

You could say lentils are the dried bean of the '90s--they cook faster than other dried beans.

Yield: 7 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Ingredients

• 2  teaspoons  olive oil
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 1 1/4  teaspoons  curry powder
• 7  cups  water
• 3/4  cup  lentils
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh basil
• 2  tablespoons  balsamic vinegar
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1  (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• Fresh basil (optional)

Preparation

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 4 minutes. Add curry; sauté 1 minute. Add water and lentils; bring to a boil. Cover; reduce heat. Simmer 40 minutes or until lentils are tender.

Place 4 cups lentil mixture in a blender; process until smooth. Return mixture to pan. Add chopped basil, vinegar, salt, and tomatoes; cook until thoroughly heated. Garnish with basil, if desired.

Note: We particularly liked this soup made with red lentils. However, they're smaller, cook in a much shorter time, and need less liquid, so adjust accordingly.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

104 (15% from fat)

Fat:

1.7g (sat 0.2g,mono 1g,poly 0.2g)

Protein:

6.7g

Carbohydrate:

16.8g

Fiber:

3.2g

Cholesterol:

0.0mg

Iron:

2.3mg

Sodium:

247mg

Calcium:

37mg