I am on a mission this week.  A mission to use up all perishable food items before Saturday.  What is Saturday you ask?  You will have to tune in tomorrow to see what Saturday is all about.

Meanwhile, the weather this week has been as balmy as an Antarctic Summer Day and soup is always on the menu during frigid winter weather.  I have eaten all my squirreled away soups from the freezer, so I pulled out the soup pot and surveyed what veggies I had to use up.

2 roma tomatoes, 1 jalapeño pepper, some green onions, garlic cloves and lots of fresh cilantro…of course, all these ingredients screamed Mexican.  So I came up with the following, a hearty, warm-you-to-your-toes soup bursting with the flavours of Mexico.  The lentils give you protein, but you could easily add some shredded chicken or turkey or even chunks of ham for those meat eaters in the family.

Mexican Spiced Lentil Soup

Ingredients

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
¾ Cup sliced Green Onions (the white part and where it starts to turn green)
1 Cup Red Lentils
4 Cups Turkey, Chicken or Vegetable broth (homemade preferred)
1 Clove Garlic, mashed
2 Roma Tomatoes, diced
1 Jalapeño, seeds removed and finely diced
½ tsp freshly grated Black Pepper
½ tsp Sea Salt *
¾ Cup chopped fresh Cilantro
Juice of 1 Lime (about 5 tsp)

Directions

In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium-low heat and sauté onions for about 5 minutes, add garlic and sauté another 2-3 minutes.

Add lentils and broth, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and add tomatoes, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice and black pepper.

Cover and simmer for at least 30 minutes until lentils are cooked through.

Puree half the soup (if desired), garnish with additional cilantro.

Makes about 5 cups

* Note – I do not add salt to my recipes if using store bought broth.