4 medium carrots, peeled, and cut into ½ inch pieces
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tablespoon oregano, dried
½ tablespoon salt
½ tablespoon rosemary
2 dried red peppers* (such as these http://bit.ly/1DsD9Dd)
pinch of pepper
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon rice vinegar, to taste
1 teaspoon salt, to taste,
pepper to taste
*Alternatively you can use the ½ teaspoon red chili pepper flakes seasoning
Instructions
In a large pot bring about 5 cups of water to a boil. Add lentils to the water and boil for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Remove the pan from the heat, and while keeping the lentils in the pan, drain most of the water to remove some of the bitterness by pouring over a strainer to catch any lentils that may fall. The water that you pour will be blackened, but be sure to leave 1 inch of the water in the cooking pot to retain some nutrients, such as iron from the lentils.
Add more water to the pot so that there is about an inch of water above the lentils. Add carrots, onion, salt, pepper, rosemary, oregano, garlic cloves, and bay leaves.
Snap the dried red pepper in half so that the seeds fall into the pot.
Stir the ingredients together and bring the water back to a boil. Once the water begins to boil, reduce the heat to medium-low or a simmer and allow to heat until the soup reaches a thick consistency. Regularly stir especially towards the end so that the bottom does not burn. This should take about 40 to 50 minutes. Once soup has thickened, season with rice vinegar, salt and pepper to taste and drizzle a teaspoon of olive oil over the top, if desired.
Nutrition Facts Per Serving (without yogurt, oil drizzled on top and salt to taste): 193 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 436 mg sodium, 36 g carbs, 15.5 g fiber, 5 g sugar, 12 g protein
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 cup Calories: 193 Fat: 0 g Saturated fat: 0 g Unsaturated fat: 0 g Trans fat: 0 g Carbohydrates: 36 g Sugar: 5 g Sodium: 436 mg Fiber: 15.5 g Protein: 12 g
Recipe by Nutrition Twins at https://www.nutritiontwins.com/green-lentil-soup/