Thank you for such an overwhelming response to my last post. You really know how to make a girl feel special, really. Please have no fear that this site will disappear because it won’t. Most likely new posts will continue at their lackadaisical pace and I feel good about that. I should be making you a cake, but this soup will have to do.
This humble soup is a bit of a mish mash of everything. A little while ago, I made a vegetarian chowder and my soup-hating husband loved it so I wondered if using a couple of potatoes and some frozen corn, I could turn a lentil soup into something akin to chowder. The answer to this, of course, is yes. Red lentils cook down to an almost creamy texture and there’s lots of chowder textures and flavours with the potatoes, carrots and corn. The coconut milk adds a luscious, silky quality.
There’s curry paste which you’d expect in a curried lentil soup but also a curious addition of asian chili garlic sauce and a very southwestern chili powder – yup, like the kind you add in a big Texas chili. This is a very cosmopolitan lentil soup chowder! It might read as a bit of an oddball on paper, but this soup was delicious. It leans more towards the curry flavours than the southwest, but I do like thinking of this as a chowder so I’m sticking with the name. I went back for a second bowl and the husband thought it was quite tasty, so success! The leftovers that I ate today for lunch were, I think, even better. Not bad for such a wacky seeming soup. A definite bright spot for the end of February.
southwest curry chowder
It’s weird because I was out of onion and normally I’d add at least a half of one to a soup like this. So if you want to add an onion, please go ahead. I probably will do the same when I make it next time. But the really pleasing thing was, this soup tasted amazing without it. Who knew?2 T coconut oil
2 fat cloves garlic, chopped
1 carrot, finely diced
2 medium potatoes, diced
1 c red lentils
1 t chili powder
1 T (heaping) curry paste (I use Patak’s madras paste)
water or stock (I used chicken stock)
1 T chili garlic sauce (optional)
1 can of light coconut milk
1 c frozen corn
salt & pepperIn a medium-large soup pot, heat coconut oil and add in garlic, carrot, and potatoes and let things sweat it out for a minute or two. Add in lentils, chili powder and curry paste and stir things around so everything is coated. Pour water or stock over everything, covering the vegetables and lentils by about 1 inch or so. Stir in chili garlic sauce, if using. Put on lid and simmer for 20 minutes or until lentils and vegetables are nearly tender. Pour in coconut milk and corn and cook for another 10-15 minutes before serving. Season with salt and pepper, if needed. Serves about 4.
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