Lentil Soup (Shorbat Adas)

Today I’m sharing Lentil Soup, or Shorbat Adas.

I absolutely love this soup. It’s hearty, nutritious and delicious. It uses only 6 ingredients, all of which are pantry staples, and it comes together in less than 45 minutes.

You start by lightly caramelizing a couple of onions in some olive oil, mixing occasionally. Meanwhile, boil rice and brown lentils until they’re cooked through, about 30-40 mins. Blend the contents with a hand mixer or standing blender. You then strain the soup to remove the solids, leaving a smooth and creamy soup that you place back in the pot. Cumin is where this soup gets most of its flavor, and you add 2 Tbsp of it at this point, along with the onions to give a somewhat sweet crunch. I also added 2 Tbsp of Garlic Aleppo Pepper Oil (which I also use in molokhia), since I had some in the fridge. Feel free to add 2 tsp of Aleppo Pepper Paste or leave it out entirely. It’s comforting, simple, and best of all, absolutely delicious. Lentil soup is best served with lemon wedges, crusty bread, croutons or pita crisps.

Why does my family strain the soup? Traditionally, before the age of blenders, the soup was passed through a mill which had a sieve attached to it. Now, you’ll find that many people don’t do this extra step. Straining it allows the ultimate control texture, leaving it silky instead of grainy. Adding the onions back in at the end also ensures a nice contrast, since they’re not blended with the other contents.

Another little known fact: cumin is thought to eliminate the excess (ahem) gas you might get from eating lentils and help digest. I’m not 100% sure if this is true, but I do know that it is the biggest flavor component of the dish, so be generous.

I pretty much exclusively eat this soup during Ramadan. Since we’re all cooking through our pantries at this time and reducing trips to the supermarket, I knew it would come in handy for a lot of you.

I hope you give this recipe a try! If you do, don’t forget to put it in the comments so everyone knows how it turned out. I also love to see your creations! Tag #omayahcooks and @omayah.atassi on Instagram!

A hearty, nutritious and flavorful pantry staple meal that is sure to keep the whole family satisfied anytime of day. Serve with lemon wedges, crusty bread and/or pita crisps.

Serves: 6-8
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

2 medium yellow onions
2 tbsp olive oil
1.5 c brown lentils
1/4 c medium-grain rice (i.e. Jasmine, Calrose, Egyptian)
2 Tbsp cumin
2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
2 Tbsp Aleppo Pepper Garlic Oil or 2 tsp Aleppo/Turkish pepper paste (optional)
Lemon wedges, pita crisps or crusty bread to serve

Instructions:

Add onions and olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until past translucent and beginning to turn golden, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, boil 6 c of water in a medium heavy-bottomed pot and add rice and lentils. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until soft, about 30-40 minutes.
Blend with a hand mixer or in a standing blender. Pass through a fine mesh sieve set over a large, heat-proof bowl. Discard the solids and return the liquid to the pot.
Add onions, cumin, salt and Aleppo Pepper Garlic Oil or Aleppo pepper paste, if using.
Serve with lemon wedges, crusty bread or pita crisps.
Can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored in an air-tight container in the fridge. Reheat gently on the stove.