Bright Lentil Soup with Greens, Cilantro, and Lime

I’m always tinkering to create bigger, more interesting flavors with everyday ingredients—especially when working with vegan and vegetarian food. Lately I’ve been having fun stirring citrusy, herbal blends into soup after cooking to add another layer of complexity and zing.

This soup is just right for these dark days: grounding, comforting, and nourishing from earthy lentils and potatoes, yet herbaceous, green, and refreshing from plenty of cilantro, greens, and lime. I’ve been loving it with a scoop of jasmine rice, crusty toast with sharp cheddar, and julienned radishes.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter, ghee, or olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground fenugreek (optional)
5–10 generous grinds fresh black pepper
2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt (start with half this amount if using another salt)

¾ cup black, brown, or green lentils, rinsed
1 medium potato (about 5 ounces), chopped into ½-inch cubes
1 carrot, halved lengthwise and sliced into ¼-inch half-moons
6 cups water

1 bunch spinach, Swiss chard, or kale (about 5 ounces), chopped

1 medium tomato (about 7 ounces), roughly chopped
Juice of 2 medium limes
1 small bunch cilantro, roughly chopped (stems are fine)
1 plump garlic clove
½ teaspoon salt (see note on salt above)

Topping ideas:
Lime wedges
Radishes
Salty aged cheese (Pecorino Romano or Parmesan)
Pistachios
Sesame seeds
Yogurt

Instructions

In a medium or large soup pot, combine your fat of choice, onion, garlic, cumin, fenugreek (if using), black pepper, and 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Sauté on medium-low for about 10–15 minutes, until the onions are soft and creamy.

Add the lentils, potato, carrot, and water (and chard stems if using chard—see note below). Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 20–30 minutes, until the lentils and potatoes are soft. Stir in the spinach or greens of your choice, cook for 3 minutes more, and remove from heat.

While the soup cooks, roughly chop the tomato and combine it with the lime juice, cilantro, garlic, and ½ teaspoon salt in the blending jar of a personal blender. Let it sit and macerate while the soup simmers, then blend until fully combined.

Stir the blended cilantro mixture into the soup. Taste and adjust with more salt or lime juice as needed.

Serve yourself a piping hot bowl and top with a generous shaving of Pecorino Romano, black pepper, julienned radish, chopped pistachios—whatever sounds good to you.

Notes

• Wash your greens and cilantro thoroughly, especially if they have visible dirt. Nothing ruins soup faster than crunchy grit.

• If using chard or kale, remove the stems before chopping. Chard stems are delicious—chop finely and add with the carrot, potato, and lentils. Kale stems, in my opinion, are not so delicious; compost those.

• You can skip the blended cilantro portion if you don’t have the ingredients or inclination. If you do skip it, still add ½ teaspoon salt and the juice of 2 limes at the end so the soup has the brightness it needs to sing.