This is a nice recipe to make when you’ve had an overindulgent weekend and want something nourishing and healthy that’s not a big, sad salad. (Nothing ever feels as penitential to me as salad-as-a-meal). It is vegetarian and can easily be vegan, if you use coconut oil in place of the butter, and skip the yogurt garnish.  I highly recommend seeking out some smoked paprika (meet Penzeys), though regular will do fine, and I suggest adding heat with powdered chipotle pepper. Use a light hand with the spice to start, and adjust after you blend it all together and taste.

This recipe is very slightly adapted from one my mom gave to me, and a coworker gave it to her, so I’m not sure of its original origin (if you recognize it, please let me know!) The original had a peeled and cored apple in the vegetable mixture, but I generally leave it out because apples aren’t something I have lying around the house most of the year. You can certainly add it if you like the slight sweetness, but I chose to write it this way because I love that it’s essentially a recipes of pantry staples. I often find I have everything in the house to make this without even planning on it–which again, makes it the perfect thing to cook when you’ve had a weekend of too much restaurant food, too much booze, not enough vegetables, and no time to grocery shop.

You’ll need: 1 large pot and a second large, heat safe container (another pot, a mixing bowl), a blender, a cutting board+knife, a wooden spoon. Optional but not really: an apron, so you don’t splash your clothes with the soup during the blending process. Turmeric in particular never, ever washes out.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter or coconut oil

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

3 large carrots, peeled and chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

1 onion, roughly chopped

3/4 cup red lentils, rinsed and sorted

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger (or 1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger)

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon turmeric

Cayenne or chipotle pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

4 cups vegetable broth

Plain Greek yogurt

Scallions for garnish

To cook:

Melt the butter or oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Place the chopped sweet potatoes, carrots, garlic, and onion in the pot. Stir and cook until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.

Stir the lentils, ginger, ground spices, salt and vegetable broth into the pot with the vegetable mixture. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the lentils and vegetables are soft, about 30 minutes.

**If you can, I recommend turning off the heat and taking a 10-15 minute breather here to let the soup cool a little bit before you blend it. It’s not essential, I know you have stuff to do, but it does reduce the risk of spilling boiling soup on your feet.

Working in batches, pour the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a clean pot or large bowl.

Return the pureed soup to the cooking pot. Bring back to a simmer over medium-high heat, about 10 minutes. Add water as needed to thin the soup to your preferred consistency. Taste, adjust heat as desired. Serve with yogurt and diced scallion for garnish, with a big splotch of sriracha for the real spice lovers.