Plant-based North African Soup

North African Soup

A friend of mine from church is a certified wellness/nutrition coach and shared her website with me, along with this recipe.  I tweaked it a bit to meet our tastes.  The original ingredients will be in black and the red are the things I subbed.  It's very tasty on a cold evening.  I served it with honey cornbread and it was so delicious.  We only had enough leftovers for two lunches!

NORTH AFRICAN SOUP

(original recipe is titled North African Red Lentil Soup)

2 Tblsp Olive Oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2-3 Carrots, peeled and diced 

(original recipe calls for just 1)

2 tsp ground cumin

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 tsp sea salt (original: 1 1/2 tsp)

2 c. low-sodium northern beans, rinsed and drained

(original: 2 c. red lentils)

8 c. garden veggie broth

(8 c. of bone broth or stock)

1 c. quick cook barley

freshly ground cracked black pepper

• In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and then add in the carrots, onion, garlic, cumin and salt.  Cook and stir for about 5 minutes or until onion is softened.
• Add the beans (or lentils) and broth.
• Bring to a boil; add in the barley;  then turn the heat to lowest setting (simmer).
• Cover the pot partially and simmer for about 30 minutes or until beans/lentils are completely soft.
• Grind in a generous amount of black pepper and stir to blend in.
• Serve hot, with lime slices and garnish with fresh parsley.

TIPS:  original recipe says if soup is thickened by letting the lentils cook longer, you can serve it over quinoa.

I actually wanted a thicker soup but don't care for lentils so I added in the barley.  It was delicious and very filling!

This soup contains cumin which is an anti-inflammatory and is good for digestion.

To see more of Rhonda's recipes, please head over to her website which is listed below.

I do have permission from her to share this here.

Simply Made Health

ENJOY!!