Curry Lentil Soup

It is “dig through the pantry day” at my house and I found the makings for a perfect meatless meal. Curry lentil soup with fresh vegetables. Curry is a mix of spices. It can vary greatly. You can make your own curry mixture or buy one. I used a premade curry paste that I had in the pantry. Ten different plant foods in this recipe and I did not count the spices in the curry paste. You will need to do a little chopping of veggies, but after that, this recipe does not take much attention and it tastes even better the next day.

Ingredients
2 cups or 1lb dried black lentils rinsed and picked over
1 13.6-oz can or small box coconut milk
1 15-oz can or box chopped tomatoes
3 carrots chopped
3 celery stocks chopped
2 shallots or 1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
6 summer squash or zucchini chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro or Italian parsley
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 tablespoons curry powder or curry paste
salt and pepper to taste
Juice of 1 lemon

Directions
Add coconut oil to a stockpot and heat. Add the scallions and garlic to the pan and cook together until the scallions are translucent. Add the celery, carrots, and summer squash. Mix together. Cook the vegetables together for 5 minutes.

Add the lentils and stir to mix.

Add the curry powder or paste and stir well to mix.

Add the tomatoes, coconut milk, and stock. Stir to mix. Let the soup cook on medium for 30 minutes. Do not let the soup come to a boil.

Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. When vegetables and lentils are soft, stir in cilantro or Italian parsley, squeeze the lemon into the sound and mix well.

If your stew starts to get too thick, can more stock or water.