Quinoa Lentil Soup
Tomatoes, lentils, garlic, lemon, cilantro and some delicious and nutritious grains combine to make this bowl of kushary soup.
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 c cooked or dry chickpeas See step 1 to cook the chickpeas in Instant Pot
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion half sliced, half diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1-2 tomatoes, diced
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp salt, more to taste
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 c strained tomatoes
- 3 c broth vegetable or chicken
- 4 c water, plus more as needed
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 1 c lentils
- 1/2 c quinoa
- 1/2 c vermicelli or orzo
- 1 fresh lemon, juiced
- 1 bunch of cilantro, minced
- pita bread *optional
Instructions
- I start with cooking chickpeas from scratch. Use 1 cup of dry chickpeas and cook them in the Instant Pot by covering them with water and pressure cook for 60 minutes (high pressure). Drain and set aside 1 cup of cooked chickpeas for the soup and store the rest.
- Over high heat, or on the saute setting of an Instant Pot, cook the diced onion in 2 tbsp of olive oil until yellow. Add the garlic and diced tomatoes.
- Add the cumin, coriander, and pepper and stir well for about 2 minutes until tomatoes have softened.
- Add 4 cups of water, followed by the lentils. Close the lid of the Instant pot and pressure cook by pressing manual and adjust to 3 minutes (high pressure). If using a regular pot, simmer on low for 20 minutes until lentils are cooked.
- While the lentils cook, fry the sliced onions in a sauce pan with the remaining 2 tbsp of oil. Once the onions begin to soften, sprinkle on the corn starch to help them crisp up. Saute over medium-high heat until the onions become golden and crispy. Set aside for serving.
- Once the lentils have cooked, stir the soup and make sure there is still enough liquid. If it has thickened too much, add 1 more cup of water.
- Make sure the pot is now set to saute setting (15 minutes) to simmer the soup. Add the strained tomatoes and broth, along with the salt.
- Add the quinoa. Allow the soup to simmer for 10 minutes more so that the quinoa cooks.
- Add the vermicelli or orzo pasta and cook for about 5 minutes more.
- Add most of the cilantro, reserving some for garnishing. Turn off the heat. Add the lemon juice and serve.
- Garnish with fried onions, cilantro, and serve with pita.
