Tomato, red lentils and smoked chili soup

Winter this year has been exceptionally warm and well... boring! It's more like a typical Belgian autumn, in fact, dark, rainy and windy. The last couple of days it has started to get colder, though. All that is still missing is some snow finally... Today after a very nice long run in the forest I really felt like a hot and spicy soup tonight. And so I decided for a slightly different tomato soup - with red lentils for extra thickness and some chilean merquén spice for a hot smoked flavour. Fast, easy to make and really delicious!

Tomato and red lentils soup

(makes 6-8 servings)

3 tbsp. olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped

8 garlic cloves, minced

3 cans of diced tomatoes, 400g each

140g tomato paste

250g red lentils, picked over and well rinsed

2-2.5L vegetable bullion, depending on the desired thickness

1-2 tsps. merquén spice (a mix of dried and smoked Chilean chili seasoned with cumin, coriander and salt)

0.5-1 tsp. ground cumin

0.5 tsp. salt

chopped fresh parlsey or coriander to garnish

In a large pot heat up the olive oil, add the onions and garlic, fry for 5 minutes at a low-medium heat. Add the canned tomatoes and tomato paste, cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the bullion and the lentils, cover and cook at low heat until the lentils are soft, 20-30 min. Add the spices, simmer for 5 more minutes  and serve with chopped fresh parsley or coriander and a thick slice of fresh bread.