Molly O'Neill's Roasted Carrot and Red Lentil Soup

So here's a little story for you. On Saturday morning. I was strolling around my favorite green market, filling my bag with snappy asparagus, hyacinths and peonies, rosy little radishes and rondes de Nice, those round zucchini that you're meant to stuff with seasoned ground meat and bake in the oven. I didn't expect to find them at the market, and I couldn't help but buy four of them, round and glossy and firm. Inspired with memories of the petits farcis of Nice, I stopped at the organic butcher to look for ground meat. As I stood in line, though, I decided to use ground dark chicken meat instead, lightening the filling.

Suddenly it was my turn. I asked for chicken thighs, ground. The butcher stared at me, asked me to repeat my request. I pointed to the chicken thighs and asked if he could grind them. Realizing he'd understood me the first time, he shook his head, almost disappointed in me. Maybe even a little indignant? "We don't do that." Now it was my turn to stare. "If you order five kilos? In advance? Then we'll grind the thighs for you. Otherwise, sorry, it's just too exotic."

Exotic! Ground chicken meat! Folks, you can't make this stuff up.

Back at home, hungry for lunch, I decided to put the zucchini away and turn to something else I'd been craving for a while, armed with an old recipe of Molly O'Neill's for red lentil ragout. Yes, I was craving legumes. I suppose that's pretty exotic(!), too.

The original recipe starts with a roasted panful of carrots and onions and ends with ancho chile and other exotic spices. It sounded absolutely wonderful. The only problem was that I didn't have ancho or chipotle chile powder. (Note to self: add to shopping list for May.) So I decided to improvise a little, which turned out to be just fine, because, man, that recipe was wonky. I almost charred my sweet little carrots to a blackened crisp, before realizing that roasting them at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes is definitely not the best path to delicious food. Untested recipes! They make you a better cook, I guess.

Instead of ancho and chipotle chile powder, I decided to use a mixture of cayenne, Aleppo pepper and smoked paprika. And let me tell you, folks, this turned out to be a serendipitous choice. Also, exotic! (I'm sorry.)

So here's what happens. You roast a bunch of carrots in the oven with lots of salt and olive oil (and pepper) until they're soft and browned. It is almost impossible not to eat these carrots with your fingers the minute they come out of the oven. Resist! You must! (Onions are tossed in at the very end in rings and they go all fragrant and shriveled.)

Then you chop the carrots into bite-sized pieces and scrape the onions and carrots into a pot with some olive oil and the spices. These cook for a minute and start to release all their wonderful oils and flavors. That's when you add the red lentils and stock. You let the whole thing simmer away for about half an hour, stirring occasionally, while the lentils break down into agreeable sludginess.

What you're left with, in the end, is an improbably sweet and spicy stew. The sugars concentrated in the carrots through the roasting infuse the soup with honeyed sweetness, and are a good balance to the heat of the spices that will warm your body as you spoon up lunch.

The amount of cayenne that I used resulted in a very spicy stew. Not mouth-numbing, but enough to make you stop and take a bite of bread every once in a while. This is what I was going for, maybe just a little bit out of flounciness towards that butcher. Exotic? I'll show you exotic. If you'd rather have a milder stew that's no less nuanced and delicious, just leave out the cayenne or use less of it.

I loved this soup. Loved it. Loved the nubby red lentils, the sweet, melting carrots, the blessed heat that made my nose run, the fragrant soupiness of each spoonful. I sat on my balcony in the sunshine and ate my spicy, stewy soup and thought about that butcher, so solid in his traditions and his convictions, so unbending in the face of a customer's request. Living in Germany is a pleasure and a trial, just like any place, I guess. Thank goodness I've got my kitchen to keep me anchored, no matter where I am.

Roasted Carrot and Red Lentil Soup
Serves 6

1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 medium onion, sliced thin
3/4 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (less if you want a milder stew)
1/8 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
1 cup red lentils
4 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lay the carrots in a roasting pan and toss with 3 tablespoons oil. Season with the salt and a few grinds of pepper. Roast for 20 minutes. Turn the carrots, add the onion and roast 15 minutes, until the carrots are brown and tender. When carrots are cool enough, cut them in bite-sized chunks.

2. Warm 2 tablespoons oil in a saucepan. Add the carrot-and-onion mixture and the peppers and paprika. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the lentils. Add the stock and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes, until the lentils are falling apart. Check for seasoning and serve.

Comments

[Nisrine M.]

The roasted veggies must give an amazing taste to this soup. I love cooking red lentils, they're so delicious and cook super quickly.

[Victoria]

Yum.

I use ground chicken thighs too. So delicious, hardly exotic. But the only place I can get to grind them in my neighborhood is Eli's. I have a meat grinder for my (35-year-old) KitchenAid upstate and am thinking about getting a free-standing one for the city so I can grind my own whenever I want.

May is on the way. Have fun.

[Anne]

I don't think I've ever commented before (although I read your blog quite regularly), but I just had to laugh at your experience at the butcher. I'm an American living in the UK, and of all the things I thought I wouldn't be able to find over here, ground chicken certainly wasn't on my list! It's been quite an experience.

And thanks for posting a red lentil soup today — I'd planned to make one for dinner this evening. What good luck!

[Lynn]

YUM! I will definitely be trying this, although the Aleppo pepper might be a challenge here in NL.
(Oh, and the "rondes de Nice" link takes me to a profile of Philip D. Murphy...just so you know...)

[Emily]

This post is sort of the story of my life ever since I moved to Belgium. As the resident American here, I'm of course in charge of Thanksgiving. I swear the butcher always look at me as if I have three, green glowing heads whenever I order several turkeys en entière outside of the Christmas season. The first year I didn't specify that even though I wanted the entire turkey, I didn't really want the claws, feathers or vitals organs included. Let me tell you, thank god for the Internet and impromptu self-taught butcher lessons.

(Ok, I feel really self-aggrandizing for doing this, but it's actually a funny story. You can go here to hear more about Thanksgiving here. It really is all sorts of ridiculousness. http://thepetitfour.com/?p=945)

Also, everytime I go home I stock up as much as possible on chipotle and anything with the word adobo in the title. le sigh.

[Luisa]

Victoria - That sounds like a good investment! :)

Anne - I'm glad you can commiserate. Enjoy your dinner tonight! :)

Lynn - if you find a Turkish store near you, any fragrant red pepper they have will work. (And oops, thanks for the heads-up! I'm going to an event of his tonight, hence the mixup. Fixed now!)

Emily - ooh, clicking over now to read. This is always the good stuff! :)

[Maris (In Good Taste)]

What a gorgeous soup and so healthy!

[Agnes]

Why, to me (living in Denmark), ground chicken meat sounds very "exotic" indeed - like something thought up in some eighties cookbook, trying to make you eat traditional, ground meat dishes in a "healthier" way - but then I may have missed out on a whole new world of flavours there! It just doesn't sound that appealing to me, texture-wise...(sorry). But I am a firm beliver in your cooking skills, so I might give it a try some day :-) That being said, I can imagine - and understand - your frustration at the stubborn, righteous butcher :-) Maybe I should try to ask my local butcher - and see what he will say ;-) (if I dare..) I would love to know of some traditional uses for ground chicken meat (maybe in the jewish kitchen? - I have no idea).

And by the way, I do find it very annoying, that finding the many different kinds of chili is so difficult here...sadly we don't have the affinity to south american cooking to make it "selbstverständlich".

The soup sounds scrumptious!

I lived in Germany once for 1½ year, and I (too) found it a challenge to shop and cook in a country, where ideals and produce were different from home (even though Denmark and Germany are indeed rather similar) and I was sometimes amazed at how the things I took for granted at home were suddenly difficult to obtain or very unusual (and I suppose I would miss the varieties of dairy products terribly if I ever went to the States...). But then it's also so exciting meeting the cooking of other countries!

I hope you find the challenge not just a frustating but also a horizon-widening pleasure :-)

- actually, what makes reading food blogs so interesting to me is the glimpse it gives me into cooking and produce in other parts of the world :-)

Thank you for posting so regularly - you are always a joy to read.

[Agnes]

...and by the way - browsing a bit showed me, that ground chicken meat is indeed available in most Danish supermarkets - and in different Danish recipe forums people seem rather at loss to think up ways to use it :-) But it is eaten! So it might be my personal idiosyncrasy to eat only whole chicken...(maybe it's some kind of salmonella-fobi on my part that makes me wish to handle my chicken as little as possible and cook it as close to it's natural state as possible - even though that is probably irrational).

[clotilde]

In France, the only meat traditional butchers will grind for you is beef. Pork, lamb, chicken -- if you want it ground, you need to grind it yourself.

In a way, I understand: everything is done on the premises, and if they were to grind several types of meat they'd need as many grinders (for sanitary reasons).

And since there are very few requests for "exotic" ground meats ;) they can't really justify the investment and the space this would take.

It doesn't bother me anymore since I got a grinder attachment for my stand mixer!

(Oh, and the soup looks delish.)

[adrienne]

YUM! This sounds amazing!

[Esther]

I must say I absolutely LOVE your blog! I just enjoy reading what you write and your thoughts- you are so easy to relate to its fantastic!
Ive recently just started a blog too- learning the ropes bit by bit- but get heaps of inspiration from yours so I finally had to say thankyou for a great blog!

[Helen K]

Here is another transplanted Berliner always on the prowl for chicken thighs. I know that the Turkish super markets have them but they are overly flattened somehow and insubstantial, so I would love to hear where you get yours! Otherwise, I keep wondering where all the Berlin thighs disappear to, what with the endless supply of drumsticks on sale. (On the other hand, pet food is getting very upscale.) Thanks again, Luisa! PS I do have a soup recipe by Anthony Worall Thompson with lots of carrots, red lentils, some Indian spices and coconut milk that is then pureed. Also delicious.

[Giulia]

Well, you can only get ground chicken here in Canada if it's pre-packaged, they won't do it at the butchers because of the very high risk of salmonella in the grinder and other tools. However, pre-packaged ground chicken or turkey is readily available, thinking back to living in Switzerland I don't think I ever saw ground chicken...
The spice in your soup would be great to kick my cold out of my body, me thinks.

[Kristen]

Ha ha, this made me laugh. I am a Californian living in Vienna, Austria, and I also was told I am crazy for wanting ground meat other then beef. Common! Turkey burgers, anyone?

[Michelle]

Who really wants ground chicken anyway.... too exotic! Great! I have been on a wild and crazy soup bender, well as wild and crazy as soup benders can get.... this is a perfect addition.

[Christina]

That soup sounds wonderful! With your descriptions, I can taste every bite right along with you. Thank you for sharing your everyday experiences with us... the good and the frustrating and the humorous!

[Caroline]

Spicy lentils... yes please!

[MarmandeintheKitchen]

Looks great. I bought some aleppo pepper a while back and was looking for ways to use it before it got too old - definetly will give this a try!

[sewa mobil]

Nice article, thanks for the information.

[Lora]

This soup looks wonderful! I have the same problem here in Germany when I ask butchers to grind chicken meat. Always, "nein!".Here is an online source for chipotle chili powder http://tinyurl.com/6lxp94h

[The Food Hunter]

Oh I could go for a bowl of this right now.

[Lobstersquad]

Once I asked for ground lamb at the market in Madrid, and the guy looked daggers at me. Then, since there was nobody around, he told me he would do it, but I´d have to come and get it early in the day so nobody would see what he had done.
We take lamb ve-ry seriously in Spain, you see.
No problem with ground chicken, though.

[kickpleat]

Oh yes, I'll have another bowl please. This looks delicious and I'm kicking myself for not having thought of roasting the carrots and onions beforehand. Genius! I don't have those fancy peppers on hand, but I'm sure I can make do as this is looking more and more like tonight's dinner.

[the twice bitten]

Maybe try a chinese butcher? Ive had ground chicken and pork from there for making din sum.

[cory {relish}]

this grinding news is such a funny surprise to me! after thinking about it, americans use so much ground meat in so many dishes (lasagna, burgers, meatballs, meatsauces...the list goes on and on) and in so many different varieties. i wouldnt quite be 'lost' without it, but i would certainly encounter a ton of situations where i would miss it.

love your blog as always :)

[Katie@Cozydelicious]

This soup looks amazing! I love the sweet and spicy combo, and I'm always a fan of lentils. So hearty and warming - perfect for this still-chilly spring!

[Allison]

Hahaha! Love your story. How dare you ask for something so exotic. ;)

[kim]

Mmmm, that looks so good. Will have to give it a try. After reading your posts I always wish you were in my kitchen cooking for me!

[Megan]

I saw this recipe this morning, bought carrots and lentils on my lunch break and tried it out tonight. This is a wonderful soup!!! I love it! But I wish it made enough for another night or two. Thank you.

[Claire]

It's autumn here and this looks perfect - the mornings are just cool enough to feel the need for ugg boots and I had my first batch of soup for the season - this is going ON MY LIST. Roasted carrots are a family favourite with wars breaking out to obtain the last one in the dish ;-). This would therefore be a winner (if no one sees me taking them out of the oven).. thank you!

[Nuts about food]

Listen, if it makes you feel better, ground chicken thighs are totally exotic here too! Maybe we should all protest!

[Doriana]

The baked carrots pic looks like some kind of Pollock artwork! :) And of course the recipe sounds delicious ;)

[Helen K]

My last comment on ground meat ingredients that I miss in Berlin: fresh Italian sausage meat..;-( I guess I could just buy ground pork and spice it up, a lot.

[Sues]

This looks so fabulous! I love carrot soup already, but with lentils and big pieces of roast carrots involved? YES :)

[Meister @ The Nervous Cook]

I couldn't bookmark this recipe fast enough -- definitely entering this week's dinner rotation! Lentil soup + roasted carrots & onions? Utter heaven.

Can't wait to try this! Thank you so much for posting this.

[Alana]

Mmm. Melissa Clark's red lentil soup with lemon has gotten me on a red lentils with variations kick- but roasted carrots! Fantastastic!

[Ellie @ Kitchen Wench]

I'd definitely recommend a Chinese butcher - I find that my local Western butcher is very reluctant about special requests like this, but the Chinese butcher whom I also frequent is very accommodating and doesn't bat an eyelid at being asked to mince 1kg of chicken thighs for me!

[Luisa]

Agnes - ground meat is a staple in a lot of Middle Eastern dishes, actually. Ground poultry meat is in fact lighter than ground beef, which make it an appealing alternative if you're trying to watch your red meat intake though of course the flavor is much different. Not everyone likes it. I quite like making a Bolognese meat ragù with ground dark turkey meat.

Clotilde - yet another stand mixer advocate! You guys are breaking me down. :)

Esther - thank YOU, sweetheart! That's very kind.

Helen - there's no shortage of chicken thighs at this butcher stand actually (on the north side of the Karl August Platz Markt on Saturdays, near Krumme Strasse). He just didn't grind them. They looked pretty good! He's got nice stuff. That soup sounds delicious, by the way!

Ximena - ha! I guess it's a continental problem? Now, if only I could find lamb in Berlin outside of a Turkish market! :)

Cory - thank you.

Kim - that's so sweet, thank you.

Megan - so glad you liked it, too. I agree the recipe could definitely be doubled.

Helen - have you ever tried raw Bratwurst? I see it at the Neulandfleischer near me a lot and always wonder...

Ellie and twicebitten- as far as I know, Berlin doesn't have much in the way of Chinese butchers. I'll be on the lookout, though.

[Ziu]

Not a fan of either carrots or red lentils, I didnt expect much. And yet! This soup blew me away! Wonderful flavours!
Another keeper recipe from this lovely site. Thank you so much for sharing!

[Wendy]

LOVED the soup. I added some peeled garlic cloves when I added the onion. And I substituted sweet paprika and cayenne for the Aleppo pepper but I now want to buy me some Aleppo pepper...

[Lydia Daisy]

Thank you very much for this recipe - I have been v ill but I printed out this recipe for my other half - it was simple enough for him to make without having to stress and ask me lots of questions! And it was totally delicious and made me feel much better. Thanks for cheering me up x Lydia

[Luisa]

Ziu, Wendy, Lydia - I'm so glad you liked the soup, too!

And Lydia, you are so welcome. I'm glad you're feeling better. xo

[Stacie D.]

Went on a carrot buying binge at the farmer's mkt. This soup sounds like the ticket! Thanks for sharing.

[Lynn]

I made this soup yesterday, and it was fabulous. I had leftovers today for lunch and it was even better today! Thank you so much for sharing your "exotic" soup.

[Agnes]

Lovely soup :-) Definitely not the last til I'll be making it....

I found a shop in Copenhagen (www.chilihouse.dk), selling a lot of different kinds of chile (not Aleppo, though, but Chipotle and Ancho etc.) - they have a webshop, too. You could easily order some from there, if you run out of stock some time after you next NY-trip ;-)

[Katie]

I live in the Seattle area and the weather here has been grosser than usual. Perfect for soup though. I made this last night however I took a sourdough bread boule, cubed it and roasted it in the oven till golden brown. Then with the last couple of minutes of the soup cooking I added half of the bread in it. Then when all dished up I added a couple more bread cubes on top.
SO GOOD!
Thanks for sharing this recipe!

[zeta]

KaDeWe has a o.k. selection on chilis. And then there is always the latin american store at Bundesallee (about 50 meters behind Stubenrauchstraße).