Spiced Tomato Lentil Soup with Crispy Chickpeas

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 medium yellow onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 3/4 cup dried red lentils
• 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup canned chickpeas, drained and patted dry
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp water(optional)

Instructions

1. 1

   Prep (10 minutes): Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic. Drain and pat the chickpeas dry. Rinse lentils until water runs mostly clear.

2. 2

   Cook soup base (10 minutes): In a pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Sauté onion until softened, 4–5 minutes, then add garlic, cumin, and smoked paprika for 30 seconds. Stir in tomato paste and cook 1 minute.

3. 3

   Simmer (15 minutes): Add lentils, crushed tomatoes, and vegetable broth. Bring to a simmer and cook until lentils are tender, 15 minutes.

4. 4

   Blend and finish (5 minutes): Blend soup until smooth (add a splash of water only if needed). Stir in lemon juice and adjust salt and pepper.

5. 5

   Crisp chickpeas (during final simmer, ~5–7 minutes): In a small skillet, heat a thin film of olive oil over medium-high. Pan-fry chickpeas, stirring often, until crisp and browned, 5–7 minutes.

6. 6

   Serve: Ladle soup into bowls and top with crispy chickpeas.