Lentil and Root Vegetable Soup with homemade vegetable stock

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried onion

1. 1
   Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat.

   StovePot
2. 2
   Add the onion and fry for 8 minutes, stirring, until the onion is soft and deep golden.

   Stove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 3
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   Stove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.

To assemble

1. 4
   Sprinkle in the turmeric, cumin, paprika and ginger and stir for 30 seconds to a minute, until fragrant.
2. 5
   Put the onion, carrot, celery, parsley, garlic, bay leaves and thyme in a large pot with the cold water.

   Large pot

   💡Start with cold water: the vegetables release their flavor slowly as the water heats up.
3. 6
   Bring to a boil over high heat and skim off the foam.

   Stove
4. 7
   Turn down to medium-low heat and simmer uncovered 30–45 minutes.

   Stove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
5. 8
   Strain the stock through a fine sieve.

   Fine sieve
6. 9
   Add the legumes, potatoes, carrot, stock and sweet potato and bring to a boil.

   Stove
7. 10
   Turn down the heat and simmer with the lid slightly open 25 minutes, until the legumes is tender and the sweet potato is completely soft: some of the cubes break down and thicken the soup.

   Stove
8. 11
   Partly mash the legumes in the pot with a masher, for a thicker texture.

   Masher
9. 12
   Season with salt and black pepper and the lemon juice, taste and adjust.

   💡The lemon goes in at the end: acid at the start of cooking slows down the softening of the legumes. Adjust the salt at the end, after the soup has reduced.
10. 13
    Sprinkle the cilantro on top.