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Citrusy Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup
![Citrusy Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/02/09/multimedia/AS-lentil-soup-with-chard-wtpb/AS-lentil-soup-with-chard-wtpb-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- ¼cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 4scallions, thinly sliced
- 4garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
- 1teaspoon ground cumin or coriander (or a mix)
- 1bay leaf, thyme or oregano sprig (optional — only if you have them)
- Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- 1jalapeño, halved lengthwise, seeds removed if desired
- 1medium sweet potato (8 to 10 ounces), peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1cup green lentils
- 1medium bunch chard (8 to 10 ounces)
- ¼cup lemon or lime juice (from 2 lemons or limes)
Preparation
- Step 1
In a large Dutch oven or pot, combine the oil, scallions, garlic, cumin, bay leaf (if using), a pinch of salt and one jalapeño half. Set over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until scallions are softened and fragrant but not browned, 2 to 4 minutes.
- Step 2
Add 5 cups of water, the sweet potato, lentils and 1½ teaspoons salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, thinly slice the chard stems all the way to the leaves. Place the stems in a small bowl; add the lemon juice and season with salt. Thinly slice the remaining jalapeño and add to the chard stems to taste. (If you don’t want your soup too spicy, just add a few slices, or leave them out entirely.) Coarsely chop the chard leaves.
- Step 4
After the lentils have been simmering for 10 minutes, taste the broth. If flavors are muted, add more salt. If the broth tastes spicy to you at this stage, remove the jalapeño. Add the chard leaves, stir to combine, then cover and cook until the lentils and sweet potato are tender, 8 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and thin with water if necessary. Remove and discard the bay leaf plus the jalapeño half (if you haven’t already done so).
- Step 5
Divide soup among bowls. Top bowls with a spoonful of the chard stems, jalapeño and lemon juice. For a more bracing soup, add another spoonful or two. Soup and topping will keep separately for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Warm the soup, add water and salt as needed, then combine with the citrusy chard stems.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Whenever making a western-based soup, I use homemade vegetable broth instead of water because it adds layers of depth of flavor and nutrients that brings a good soup to a great soup.
Question: Do you think I could get away with using kale/spinach instead of the chard for this?
I protest this discrimination against sweet(and other varieties) potato skins. They are very nutritious. After WWII my parents and siblings were interned in a DP(displaced persons) Camp near Munich, Germany. Food was not plentiful. German housewives were very fastidious. Potatoes were peeled over newspaper. The newspapers were folded into little bundles and placed on top of the trash. My mom would pick up these packages and make nutritious & filling meals for her family from these scraps.
Made this with ingredients on hand (onions instead of scallions, pickled jalapeños instead of fresh), and even with those modifications, it was really good. Possibly because my dried green lentils had been around for a while, the sweet potatoes were softer than I like by the time the lentils were cooked through. If your lentils have been in your cupboard for a while, consider cutting the sweet potatoes a bit larger.
I made this last month and froze the leftovers. Took it out of the freezer to almost defrost overnight. Sautéed ground beef and added the stew. Mixing til combined and heated through. It was even better tho not vegan.
All lentils can be used interchangeably. Green ones hold their shape better than brown lentils which get soft and can be mashed. I only have brown ones which I will use when I make this soup. It sounds yummy
There's a considerable difference in both size and volume between two lemons and two limes.
I made this soup last night and it was SO GOOD! I substituted the chard with fresh spinach since chard wasn't available in my grocery store. I stemmed the spinach and added the lemon juice, jalapeno slices, and salt as directed. It was just perfect on top of the soup. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Made this last night, almost as written but with vegetable broth and water rather than just water. Everything else the same. It was good, but not excellent. My kids did like it a lot, so that's a win, and it was very easy to make. The quick-pickled chard stems and jalapeno was great. I think if I make it again I'll use a larger sweet potato and leave more of the jalapeno seeds in. Anyway I think it's worth making because it's so incredibly quick and easy, even if it's a little bit underwhelming.
I made this yesterday, and the only thing I did different was use chicken broth instead of water. I like the depth of flavor and savoriness meat broths add to meatless soups. I put it in the fridge and forgot about it until tonight. It is fantastic!!! I left the jalapeño in so it’s got a little bit of an extra kick. And I love the lemon juice marinated chad stems. I can’t stand vinegar and the lemon juice marinade is brilliant.
Sure. Sometimes I just throw in a bag of frozen spinach.
Extraordinarily delicious for the simplicity of the ingredients that it uses and quick to make for a soup. I used a chile de árbol instead of fresh jalapeño in the broth and pickle because that’s what I had. Zested the lemon before juicing it and added to the stems. Used 1 tsp each of both cumin & coriander in the broth. Don’t skip the coriander or the pickle, for me those were the special touches. Kale can be used instead of chard, cut stems thinly & let sit at least 15 min in the lemon.
Please explain "thinly slice the chard stems all the way to the leaves." It looks like stems have been cut out of leaf and then thinly sliced cross-wise.
30 minutes?
More cohesive sense: Strain the chard stems, add all of jalapeño-lemon juice to pot of soup. Top bowls with pickled stems. Ahh, isn’t that better?
hot off the press... straight from the pot and i find it yummy made as directed (lemon, cumin). the pickled chard stems are a winner. i'm sure it will all taste even better tomorrow but happily enjoying it as is now.
Didn’t have chard so replaced it with spinach, it worked well.
I added Andouille sausages, black sesame seeds and Brussels sprouts. Out of this world.
This is delicious. But triple the amount of garlic and add more than the recommended amount of green onion. Do use a vegetable broth, not water, and leave the potato skins on.
Definitely use veggie broth; I added 2 cans chickpeas for more protein. Hot sauce, avocado and Greek yogurt are my favorite add ons!
Made this with jarred pickled jalapeños and spinach. I did 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp coriander and added some turmeric for color and flavor— maybe 1/4 tsp. Used vegetarian chicken less better than boullion. 1/2 an onion instead of scallion because it’s what I had. Lemon to taste. Cooked lentils almost all the way through before adding sweet potato (added spinach and jalapeños last) very different recipe but the main flavors are still there and I really enjoyed the final result.
Agree with other reviewers: use broth instead of water, and add the sweet potatoes later. Delicious!
The pickling step doesn’t indicate how much salt to use. Please advise.
Made this as printed but with Beet Greens instead of chard. I did not think it made a good broth. The creator knew it was lacking as he gives a suggestion to add more salt if you feel the broth weak. Not a good solution in my mind The flavors of lentil and greens and sweet potato are great together. This would be better made not as a soup but as a baked lentil dish without the watery broth.
I loved this soup. I like it spicy so didn't remove the seeds and I used a serrano as I had it. I loved the Lemon twang I got from the stalks and the crunch they gave it. Super satisfying and a great healthy lunch.
Healthy and delicious! The lemon-juice marinated chard stems were great. Used vegetable broth instead of water. Needed more liquid.
I love sweet potatoes, so I doubled the amount. I subbed spinach for the chard due to personal preference, and added some vegetable bouillon and lemon zest for extra flavor. Fresh, bright, and delicious. I will definitely make this again!
This was an excellent, easy to make meal with on hand ingredients. So perfect at the end of a windy, cold Spring day.
I enjoyed this quick and easy soup. I made it according to the recipe but then decided to top it with a dollop of Greek yogurt (I wanted sour cream but did not have any on hand.) Very glad I did. Next time I would add a second sweet potato.
I like this soup. You could use any lentil, but red lentils become very mushy. To the folks who were underwhelmed by this soup, remember that many times, soup and stews taste better the next day.
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