Kitchen was still fairly empty this week, but I had some onions, shallots, and a can of tomatoes…

I started by cooking up some of my pre-soaked black lentils (they actually sat on the counter in water for 2 days).

1/2 pot of lentils, covered in water. That's 1/2 tsp of cardamom on top, and there are some ginger slices in there, too (1 square inch).

And then set about sauteing some onions and shallots in a sauce pan.

Sauteing 2 onions and 2 shallots in olive oil

Added cumin, corriander, and cayenne.

1 tsp cumin; 1 tsp corriander; 1/2 tsp of cayenne

I let it do its thing for a couple minutes, and dug out a big can of tomatoes.

Can of tomatoes, which I swiftly dissected with a knife.

And afterward, I impatiently dumped in all the lentils, with the water and chunks of ginger.  (Because my lentils were pre-soaked, they cooked super fast).

Amazingly, my sauce pan was just big enough.

I added some extra oil (for some fat), covered it, and let it simmer.  The longer these things sit, the better the flavor.  I don’t use salt, and some may find it bland.  Add salt to taste.

Sweet. (There's an extra 1-2 TB of oil in there)

Add salt to taste. Or maybe a dollop of yogurt, sour cream, rouge ail, or whatever else you can dream up.

BLACK LENTIL SOUP

• a bunch of pre-soaked black lentils (1/2 pot)
• cardamom powder or a few pods (optional)
• sliced giner (about a square inch)
• a couple onions
• a couple shallots
• a couple splashes of oil
• cumin (1tsp)
• coriander (1tsp)
• cayenne (1/2 tsp)
• giant can of tomatoes
• NO SALT (optional)