Two Simply Delicious Soups

From www.oprah.com:

 

Lentil Bisque

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed
• ½ cup dried apricots, quartered
• ¼ cup chopped onion or shallots
• ¼ to ½ tsp. Thai red chili paste
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• ¾ cup light coconut milk
• ½ tsp. salt, plus more to taste
• ½ tsp. ground black pepper
• Chopped cilantro (optional)
• 4 Tbsp. pomegranate juice or seeds (optional)

Directions

Active time: 25 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes

Place sweet potatoes, lentils, apricots, onion, chili paste, and broth in a large pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to low heat, cover, and simmer until lentils are falling apart, about 25 minutes. Let soup sit, uncovered, 10 minutes.

Add coconut milk. Using a blender or hand blender, puree soup until smooth, in batches if necessary. Stir in salt and pepper, and add more if desired.

To serve: Divide pureed soup among bowls, and top each with cilantro and pomegranate juice or seeds (if using).

Tips: You can substitute brown or green lentils for the red; they won't fall apart as easily, so forgo the blending and serve the soup as a chunky stew instead. Freeze up to 8 weeks.

 

Creamy Carrot Soup With Cherry Tomato & Corn Salsa

 

Ingredients

• 3 cups grated carrot
• 1 Tbsp. raw sesame tahini (usually found in jars in the nut butter section of stores)
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. sea salt

• 20 cherry tomatoes , quartered
• 1 ear corn , kernels removed from cob
• 1 2-inch cucumber , small diced
• 2 Tbsp. fresh coriander , minced
• 1 jalapeno chili pepper , minced (remove seeds if you prefer your salsa less spicy)
• 2 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt

Directions

To make soup: Simply combine all the ingredients in a blender, adding about 3 cups water and blending until smooth and creamy.

To make salsa: Combine all the salsa ingredients and set aside to marinate for at least half an hour before serving.

Serve the soup garnished with a scoop of salsa.


Variations:

• In place of tahini, you could add an avocado or 1 cup coconut milk to give a creamy consistency. You could also add 1/3 cup raw cashews.
• You could make the soup spicier by adding some Tabasco or some fresh or dried chili pepper. Fresh ginger or other spices could be added to suit your personal taste.
• To save time, use a chunky pre-made salsa.