Moroccan Red Lentils with homemade tomato paste

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade tomato paste ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Wash the tomatoes, remove the cores and quarter each tomato.

   KnifeCutting board
2. 2
   Put the tomatoes, the salt and half of the olive oil in a wide pot, cover and cook over medium heat about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and release their liquid.

   StoveWide, shallow pot
3. 3
   Pass the tomatoes and their liquid through a food mill or sieve and return the purée to the pot: the skins and seeds stay behind.

   Food millorFine sieve
4. 4
   Cook uncovered about an hour at a lively simmer, stirring now and then, until the purée reduces by half.

   StoveWooden spoon

   💡The paste burns easily as it dries: stir and scrape the bottom and edges, and once it is thick, don't walk away.
5. 5
   Preheat the oven to 110°C (230°F).

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
6. 6
   Grease a wide baking dish with the rest of the olive oil and pour in the purée in a thin layer. Dry in the oven about 3 hours, stirring and scraping the edges every 30 minutes, until the paste is thick, sticky and brick red.

   OvenBaking sheetSilicone spatula
7. 7
   Let the paste cool.

   Jar

For the Fried onion

1. 8
   Ahead of time, rinse the legumes in a colander until the water runs clear. No need to soak.

   Colander

   💡Split peas and small lentils don't need soaking; dried beans do, otherwise they cook for hours and stay hard inside.
2. 9
   Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat.

   StovePot
3. 10
   Add the onion and fry 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   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.
4. 11
   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. 12
   Sprinkle in the turmeric, cumin, paprika, ginger and cinnamon and stir for 30 seconds to a minute, until fragrant.
2. 13
   Add the tomatoes and tomato paste and cook 5 minutes, stirring, until the tomatoes softens.

   Stove
3. 14
   Add the legumes and stock and bring to a boil.

   Stove
4. 15
   Turn down the heat and simmer with the lid slightly open 20–25 minutes, until the legumes is tender.

   Stove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
5. 16
   Blend half the soup with a stick blender and return it to the pot, for a thick, chunky texture.

   Stick blender
6. 17
   Season with salt 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.
7. 18
   Sprinkle the cilantro on top.