Have you ever neglected to go grocery shopping for a while, looked in your kitchen and wondered what on earth you were going to cook? Well if that happens, chances are that you have at least 75% of the ingredients necessary to make this dish.

Flavorful, economical, and easy, this is a great soup to make on a Sunday and bring to work, or have ready for dinner for a few days when your day is over. If you don’t have all of the spices, don’t worry! Soups are rarely a perfect science, so just omit it if you don’t have it!

Ingredients

• 2.5 cups dry brown or red lentils
• 3/4 cup dry mixed wild rice (or any rice you have)
• 2 large onions
• 1 large carrot
• 2 yellow potatoes
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 16-oz. can chickpeas
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 lemon
• 4 qts. water or vegetable stock (or combination of both)
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp. salt
• 2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp. turmeric
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tbsp. oil
• fresh dill and/or parsley to serve

Directions

Rinse lentils and rice.

In a very large pot, heat 2 tbsp. of oil on medium heat. Dice onions and add to pot with about 1 tbsp. salt and 1 tsp. sugar. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until onions are translucent and begin caramelizing, stirring constantly.

Remove half the onions and set aside. Leave other half in the pot. Mince garlic and add to the pot. Add water/stock, along with the lentils, rice and all seasoning from list, including remaining salt and the tomato paste. Bring heat up to medium-high. Cook for about 10 minutes, and then cube carrots and potatoes and add to the pot. Cook for another 35-40 minutes. If the soup begins bubbling, turn heat down to medium, and be sure to stir every 10 minutes or so.

After about 40 minutes, squeeze the juice of the lemon into the pot, and add the onions that were set aside earlier–cook on low for another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly. As with all soups, the flavors will enhance as time goes on!

Remove from heat. Your soup is ready to serve. Add some fresh dill and/or parsley to each bowl for a little extra!