This soup will warm up your insides during the cold winter months. It is also a very easy soup to make; simply mix together all of the ingredients, cook until completely softened, puree and adjust seasoning to taste.

175 mL (2/3 cup) red lentils
1 onion, quartered
20 mL (4 tsp) flour
50 mL (1/4 cup) rice
45 mL (3 tbsp) vegetable oil
15 mL (1 tbsp) salt
5 mL (1 tsp) cumin (optional)
sprinkling of black pepper
1/4 red sweet pepper, in chunks
1.25 L (5 cups) water
lemon juice
30 mL (2 tbsp) finely chopped parsley
10 mL (2 tsp) olive oil

Remove any stones or foreign matter from between the lentils. Place in a large cooking pot, wash and drain. Add onion to lentils, along with flour, rice, vegetable oil, salt, cumin if desired, black pepper and red sweet pepper. Mix well. Add water, stir, place over medium high heat and bring to a boil, watching carefully that it does not overflow. Lower heat to extremely low (so it does not scorch) and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes.

Pour into a blender and blend until creamy or beat with an electric or hand beater for 2 minutes. Add lemon juice to taste, parsley and olive oil. That’s it, no additional cooking! It should taste tangy.

Serve hot in winter – lukewarm in summer. As soup thickens when cooled down, you may thin it with a bit of water.

Makes 5-7 servings