> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://saffron.ghostcms.templates.codememory.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Golden lentil soup with lemon - URL: https://saffron.ghostcms.templates.codememory.com/golden-lentil-soup-with-lemon/ - Published: 2026-09-19T08:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-19T08:00:00.000Z - Description: Creamy without cream, bright with lemon and ready in forty minutes. The soup that gets us through the week. - Author: Kofi Mensah - Tags: Soups & Stews, Vegetarian, #Import 2026-09-30 06:28 This is the soup I make every Sunday from October to March, a big pot that feeds us through the first busy days of the week. It is golden with turmeric, soft and creamy without any cream and finished with enough lemon to wake it up. It costs very little, takes about forty minutes and freezes beautifully. ![Red lentils cook quickly and break down into a creamy soup without any blending.](https://saffron.ghostcms.templates.codememory.com/content/images/2026/09/lentil-dry.jpg) Red lentils cook quickly and break down into a creamy soup without any blending. ## The magic of red lentils Red lentils are one of the most useful things in my cupboard. Unlike green or brown lentils, they have no skins, so they fall apart as they cook and thicken the soup on their own. You do not even need a blender, although I sometimes use one for half the pot to make it extra smooth. They also cook fast, in about twenty minutes, and they do not need soaking. Rinse them well in a sieve until the water runs clear, to wash off the dusty starch that can make the soup taste flat. > A good soup should taste better on Tuesday than it did on Sunday. > > **Kofi Mensah** ## Building flavour without meat The flavour of this soup comes from three places: onions cooked slowly until sweet, warm spices toasted in the oil and a generous squeeze of lemon at the end. Do not rush the onions. Ten minutes over a medium heat makes a real difference, turning them soft and golden instead of sharp. The spices go in next, directly into the hot oil, for about a minute. This is called *blooming*, and it releases flavours that would stay locked away if you just stirred the spices into the liquid. ![](https://saffron.ghostcms.templates.codememory.com/content/images/2026/09/lentil-carrot.jpg) ![](https://saffron.ghostcms.templates.codememory.com/content/images/2026/09/lentil-soup.jpg) ![](https://saffron.ghostcms.templates.codememory.com/content/images/2026/09/lentil-bread.jpg) Carrots for sweetness, the finished soup and warm flatbread for dipping. 🥣 The soup thickens as it cools. When you reheat it, add a splash of water or stock until it is the thickness you like. ## A soup for the whole week Sunday soup is a habit I picked up from my mother, who believed that a pot of something on the stove was the best way to start a busy week. She made it without a recipe, adding whatever vegetables were left in the fridge, and it was never quite the same twice. This version is more careful, but it keeps her spirit: forgiving, cheap and endlessly adaptable. It is also a soup for sharing. When a friend has a new baby or a hard week, I fill a big jar and drop it at their door. Nobody has ever complained. Lentils are humble, but a warm bowl of this, with bread and butter, feels like being looked after. ## Before you start - Rinse the lentils until the water runs clear, or the soup can taste dusty. - Chop the onions and carrots small so they soften quickly and melt into the soup. - Use a heavy pot. Lentils can catch on the bottom of thin pans. - Taste for salt only at the end: stock cubes vary a lot. ## Ingredients Serves 6 · Prep 15 min · Cook 35 min · Level Easy - 300 g red lentils, rinsed - 2 tbsp olive oil - 2 onions, finely chopped - 2 carrots, finely chopped - 3 garlic cloves, crushed - 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated - 2 tsp ground turmeric - 2 tsp ground cumin - ½ tsp chilli flakes - 1.5 litres vegetable stock - 1 tin coconut milk (400 ml) - 1 lemon, juiced - 1 small bunch coriander, to serve ## Method 1. Heat the oil in a large pot over a medium heat. Add the onions and carrots with a pinch of salt and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often, until soft and golden. 2. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute more. 3. Stir in the turmeric, cumin and chilli flakes and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. 4. Add the lentils and the stock. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring now and then. 5. Stir in the coconut milk and simmer for 5 minutes more. 6. For a smoother soup, blend half the pot and stir it back in. 7. Add the lemon juice, taste and season with salt. Serve with chopped coriander. ## Freezing and reheating Let the soup cool completely, then freeze it in portions for up to three months. I use old yogurt pots, which hold exactly one lunch. Reheat gently from frozen with a splash of water, stirring often, and add a fresh squeeze of lemon just before eating. It will taste as good as the day you made it. ## Common questions #### Can I use green or brown lentils? They keep their shape instead of breaking down, so the soup will be thinner and chunkier. Blend more of it and cook for 10 minutes longer. #### Is it spicy? Only gently. Leave out the chilli flakes for children, or add more for a warmer soup. #### Can I make it without coconut milk? Yes. Use extra stock and stir in a spoonful of yogurt when serving.