Turkish Red Lentil Soup

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red chile flakes, or to taste
• 8 ounces (about 1 1/3 cups) red lentils, rinsed and picked over for debris
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint
• 1 Lemon cut into wedges for serving

1. In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and carrot and saute for 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent and the carrot is starting to soften. Add garlic, cumin, red chili flakes, and lentils, and cook for 1 additional minute, or until the spices are incredibly fragrant. Add vegetable broth, water, tomato paste, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 25 minutes, or until the lentils are completely tender and falling apart. Remove the bay leaf.
2. Transfer half of the soup to a blender and puree until smooth, then stir the puree back into the remaining soup. (Or, if you have an immersion blender, blend the soup in the pot until it's about half-pureed.) Remove from the heat and stir in the mint, then season with salt to taste. Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze into the soup.

olive oil, yellow onion, carrot, garlic, ground cumin, red chile, red lentils, vegetable broth, water, tomato paste, bay leaf, fresh mint, lemon

Taken from food52.com/recipes/30237-turkish-red-lentil-soup (may not work)