Red Lentil Soup

• 2-4 tablespoons butter or olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
• 4 carrots, diced
• 1 cup zucchini, peeled and finely diced
• 3 tablespoons cilantro stems, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup canned tomatoes with their juice, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1-1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
• 1-2 pinches chile powder
• 1 cup dried red lentils, well rinsed
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 quart chicken broth
• 4-5 chopped scallions
• Optional: dollop of Greek yogurt

1. Melt/heat butter and/or olive oil, add onion and stir.
2. Add celery, carrots, zucchini, cilantro, garlic and sprinkle with salt, turmeric, cumin and cook about 5 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes, lentils and chicken stock (you may need to add more as the soup cooks). Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer partially covered for 20-30 minutes until the lentils are soft.
4. Taste for salt and add the pepper and chili powder. Add lemon juice.
5. Garnish with lightly sauteed chopped scallions.
6. Optional: My daughter recommends a dollop of Greek yogurt to "cool the heat".

butter, onion, celery stalk, carrots, zucchini, cilantro stems, garlic, tomatoes, ground turmeric, ground cumin, salt, freshly ground pepper, chile powder, red lentils, lemon, chicken broth, scallions, yogurt

Taken from food52.com/recipes/3131-red-lentil-soup (may not work)