In an effort to expedite the cooking, I’ve been experimenting with one-pot soups. I’m never going back. This is the red lentil soup I recently Tweeted:

And here it is while cooking. I like it on the thick side so I can eat it with rice or quinoa.

Recipe (amounts approximate):

• 1/2 cup dry red lentils, rinsed
• 1 small Yukon Gold potato, about 1/2 inch cubed
• Diced onion
• Diced red and green Bell pepper
• Diced fresh tomatoes
• Water to almost fill pot
• 1 tablespoon spice. You can use a prepared chili spice or your own blend. A pinch of turmeric enhances the bright orange color.
• 1 teaspoon tamari
• 1/4 cup jarred crushed tomatoes or a tablespoon of tomato paste

See that potato? I never used to include one but I read about it and gave it a go. It makes the soup more creamy. A great addition. You do have to smash the chunks against the side of the pot as it cooks.

Everything goes into the pot in the beginning, except the last three ingredients which I add during the final 15 or 20 minutes of cooking. Bring to a boil (carefully! you don’t want a boil-over), turn down and simmer until it reaches desired consistency, about 2 hours. You’ll have to stir as it thickens so nothing sticks to the bottom and burns. Keeps for about 3 days in the fridge.

One more trick… I’ve taken to chopping the vegetables for this a day ahead of time, usually when I already have the cutting board out. Then when I get up in the morning (which, as you know, is when I do my cooking) I just dump everything into the pot and let it go.