Coconut Curried Red Lentil Soup with Spinach

The red palm oil and red lentils give this soup a beautiful orange color. Feel free to use any greens you like such as spinach, collards, kale, mustard greens or even nettles. Recipe contributed by Leslie Cerier. Photos by Tracey Eller.

Serves: 4 to 6

3 tablespoons Nutiva Organic Red Palm Oil (see Note)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
1 cup red lentils, rinsed
1 cup onions, coarsely chopped
5 cups water
15-ounce can light coconut milk (or see note)
¼ teaspoon turmeric
2 cups tightly packed spinach, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt

Heat the oil in a 6-quart stockpot over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and chili pepper flakes. Fry for about a moment until the seeds begin to pop. Add the lentils, onions, water, manna and turmeric.

Bring the ingredients to a boil; then reduce the heat to medium low. Simmer covered for about 15 minutes, or until the lentils soften and begin to melt.

Stir in the greens and salt. Taste and adjust seasonings, if you like. Ladle the hot soup into bowls and serve.

Notes:

Use 2 tablespoons olive oil in place of the red palm oil if unavailable.
Leslie developed this recipe for Nutiva and recommends using ½ cup Nutiva Organic Coconut Manna™ plus 1 cup water in place of the coconut milk.