Colombian Lentil Soup with Beef

No ratings yet

Brown lentils cooked in beef broth with carrot, potato, beef and cumin. No soaking needed, forty minutes, and it is a full meal rather than a starter. Serves four.

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Colombian

Keyword: lentil soup, sopa de lentejas

Servings:

Calories: 303kcal

Author: Angela Giraldo

Ingredients

1 cup lentils brown lentils; red or split ones collapse into purée
5 cups beef broth or water
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large carrot, diced
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
½ lb beef, cut into cubes a cut for stewing: chuck or shin, not steak
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Cilantro chopped, off the heat at the end

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large pot and cook the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring now and then.
Add the beef broth or water, turn the heat up and bring it to the boil.
Once boiling, add the lentils, the diced carrot, the cubed beef, the potatoes, the cumin, salt and pepper. Cover the pot and cook for about 30 minutes, until the lentils are tender and the beef gives way.
Check the seasoning, stir in the chopped cilantro off the heat, and serve straight away.

Notes

Brown lentils need no soaking, which is the main practical difference between this and a pot of beans and the reason it is a weekday dish. They do not need long either: thirty minutes is enough, and lentils cooked much beyond that turn to mush. Use a stewing cut of beef in cubes, since half an hour will not tenderise anything tough and will dry out anything lean. If the soup thickens too much as it stands, which it will, loosen it with hot broth rather than water so the seasoning holds up.

Nutrition