On a chilly weekday, I created this dish for lentil and potato soup to fend off a cold. The soup astonished me with how good it was! It’s delicious and thick because of the filé powder, but it’s optional. All you need to finish your dinner is a warm loaf of sourdough bread!
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 45 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr |
| Servings: | 12 |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large sweet onion, chopped
- 4 stalks celery, chopped
- 4 medium red potatoes, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 dash pepper
- 1 quart vegetable broth
- 1 ½ cups dry red lentils
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup roughly chopped kale
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 teaspoon file powder
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onion and celery; cook until tender. Mix in potatoes, carrot, and garlic. Continue to cook and stir until potatoes are well coated with butter, about 5 minutes. Season with allspice, cumin, cayenne pepper, cloves, and pepper.
- Pour in vegetable broth; mix in lentils. Add water, adding more if needed to cover all ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and stir in kale. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender, 35 to 45 minutes.
- Stir in cilantro and filé powder. Continue cooking to desired thickness, about 5 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 164 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 29 g |
| Cholesterol | 5 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 7 g |
| Protein | 7 g |
| Saturated Fat | 1 g |
| Sodium | 172 mg |
| Sugars | 4 g |
| Fat | 3 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I loved the spices used in this soup recipe. The combination was very good! I did make this my own by using what I had on hand. I used one leek instead of onion, chicken broth (preference) instead of vegi broth. I also added one 28 oz can of plum tomatoes (cut up), one large sweet potato potato cut into bite size pieces. I did not have kale so I used spinach. This soup turned out soooo tasty! Thank you for your recipe!
I made this with what I had on hand. Substituted leeks for onions, vegan protein broth for vegetable broth, sweet potatoes for red potatoes, baby spinach for kale. Didn’t have file or cilantro. Added turmeric. Loved the spice combination. So healthy!
Wow! This is so delicious and I’m not even that keen on lentils. I had some leftover cooked collards and used that for some broth and the kale. The flavor is so unique and tasty. I cannot eat another bite because I’ve eaten too much. Thank you!
I was looking for a quick recipe with basics from around the house, this soup fit the bill. I didn’t add kale or spinach and didn’t have file so went in another direction and added 50 ml lemon juice and tom yum broth. Spicy but perfect for us.
I added mushrooms. I did not have celery, so I should have added some finely chopped water chestnuts for a bit of crunch. Very tasty!
This is on the top of my list of all time favorites, I do use a ham bone & ham pieces when making it. It also freezes well.
Yummy, easy AND healthy! – what more can you ask? I didn’t have all the spices, but I substituted Madras Curry Powder & it was delicious! I also used organic chicken stock instead of veggie broth & I think this made it more rich and tasty. Additionally added sweet potatoes for extra vitamins and flavor.
I made this for older friends who are eating low sodium. I wanted some protein in the dish and so used beef stock rather than vegetable and about a pound of chuck beef, fat largely removed cut into 1/2 inch cubes and pre-seared, using the beef stock to deglaze the pan. I then cooked the cubes slowly in the beef stock in the oven for about 2 hours at 225 degrees covered. I did add quite a bit more kale and cilantro and cut down on the cayenne. I also omitted the file powder and potatoes. Potatoes don’t freeze well. It was fairly tasty. I pulled some out for my husband and me and added beef bouillon to salt and flavor the dish which, for us, improved the dish a great deal. However, for a low salt diet, this is pretty flavorful. I’d make it again.
Will make again. Delicious, filling, flavorful. I did add garam masala. Used frozen kale. Easy to make. Didn’t have file and it was still thick.
Delish! Love the flavors! Made with green lentils and frozen turnips because that’s what I had on hand. Doubled the spices and added a touch of brown sugar to balance the flavor of the turnips. Versatile recipe!
For a family who likes mild spicy this is a no way. Our kids are 17, 15, 13, 7, 6, 3 And nobody would finish it. Way too spicy.
Doubled the spices, except for the Cayenne pepper. Didn’t have any celery so added some celery seed to the onions. Chicken broth. A little salt.
Whole family loved!! So flavorful! Definitely will add this to my favorites and be making again.
1 tsp cumin instead of 1/4, 1/2 pkg frozen spinach instead of kale, added about 1 tsp of garam masala vs file powder (ground sassafras, used to flavour and thicken). A splash of dry sherry adds a wonderful dimension.
I doubled the recipe for my crew of 9. Other modifications: more kale, no file powder, & 1Tbsp. of salt. How did they like it? There were no leftovers!
pretty good overall but maybe a bit strong due to the allspice and cloves. i did half vegetable and half chicken for the broth. i also added onion powder, garlic powder, lemon pepper, paprika and a pinch of Sri Lankan curry powder. for vegetables i added in garbanzo beans. saute vegetables on coconut or canola oil for better flavors.
Sooo delicious! I used chicken broth, spicy sausage and red potatoes.
Was good. But like the other reviews I added 1 teaspoon powdered cumin. ( did not have cumin seeds) I added more carrots. Came out thick without adding the file. Could be because I added a couple of extra carrots. I think next time I will add more water and use the file since would add flavor. And maybe a little more cayenne to give it more of a kick to it.
This is delicious! I even (I am ashamed to say)forgot to throw in the cilantro at the end and my guys still loved it! The only other difference in my soup is that with red lentils it becomes quite mushy – not like in the picture (I think those are green lentils?)
I loved the spices in this lentil soup; in addition, I added ginger and turmeric root,coconut manna (butter), salt, and topped it with a dab of coconut milk and sprinkle of black pepper. I toasted the cumin seeds and allspice seeds quickly and ground them. Left out the water for a very thick stew and it was delicious for an all vegetarian dish. “Thankyou” for sharing this soup
Oh God like the best thing I have ever eaten and I am a total food snob. I did not use file powder…blah don’t know what it is but sounds disgusting. I omitted the celery and I didn’t have cloves and all spice so I improvised with nutmeg and ginger. I halved the recipe and uses 1/4 tsp of all spices. I also added a healthy pinch or two or salt. I threw everything into the crock pot for like 10 hrs and added a bit more liquid…to just cover all of the ingredients. I used vegetable stock and chicken stock when I ran out of the veggie stuff. Try this and you won’t be disappointed. So easy and delicious…thank you.