This Soup Deserves an Award.

'Hi, and welcome to Five Weeknight Dishes, recipes for busy people who still want something good to eat. So Melissa Clark, one of our weeknight-cooking queens, has a new recipe in her column this week for lentil soup. And look, it sounds great. Her recipes are great! But I didn’t want to let this moment pass without paying tribute to an old friend: Melissa’s red lentil soup, which deserves a Lifetime Achievement Award for its tireless work converting people into lentil-soup lovers. I made it over the weekend and was reminded of how wonderful it is, especially if you let it sit in the fridge for a day. . .

Red Lentil Soup With Lemon

Here is that superb soup. It’s enough for a light dinner if you serve it with a stack of delicious, thick toast and a substantial salad, something with cheese or avocado, maybe nuts. I always double the recipe. You will want more.

More on this below. And, as always, send me your feedback, ideas and kitchen dilemmas at dearemily@nytimes.com.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/25/dining/this-soup-deserves-an-award.html?

INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons olive oil, more for drizzling
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch of ground chile powder or cayenne, more to taste
1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 cup red lentils
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
Juice of 1/2 lemon, more to taste
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

PREPARATION
In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons oil over high heat until hot and shimmering. Add onion and garlic, and sauté until golden, about 4 minutes.
Stir in tomato paste, cumin, salt, black pepper and chili powder or cayenne, and sauté for 2 minutes longer.
Add broth, 2 cups water, lentils and carrot. Bring to a simmer, then partially cover pot and turn heat to medium-low. Simmer until lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary.
Using an immersion or regular blender or a food processor, purée half the soup then add it back to pot. Soup should be somewhat chunky.
Reheat soup if necessary, then stir in lemon juice and cilantro. Serve soup drizzled with good olive oil and dusted lightly with chili powder if desired.