Moroccan Red Lentil Soup

From culinate.com, modified by me.

Moroccan Red Lentil Soup
From the book Art of the Slow Cooker by Andrew Schloss
Serves 6 to 8

Forget your “same old, same old” lentil soup and take a deep breath. Can you smell the cumin, the coriander, the whiff of cinnamon? Open your eyes and take in the burnt-orange glow of turmeric burnished with tomatoes and sweet paprika. Lentil soups may come and go, but this concoction will stick in your memory, not just for its heady aromas and hearty texture, but also for its ease and versatility. Feel free to improvise as desired; it’s a very forgiving recipe.

Ingredients
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil (or coconut oil — I tend to use the latter)
1 large onion, cut into medium dice
2 cloves garlic, minced. More is even better.
2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin, ground from whole seeds toasted in a dry skillet. Or just use more regular ground.
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1/4 tsp. paprika (the recipe calls for sweet; I tend to use a spicy one b/c that’s what I have on hand)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
7 cups vegetable broth (I use broth, plain water, or water with chicken bullion, depending on mood.)
1 can crushed tomatoes (I’ve used plain, fire-roasted w/ green chile or garlic, and fresh tomatoes)
1 can coconut milk (optional)
2 cups dried red lentils, picked over, washed, and rinsed

Optional but tasty for serving:
~ Juice of 1 lemon (see Note)
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Steps

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, coriander, cumin, turmeric, paprika, cinnamon, salt, and pepper, and cook for another minute. Add the broth and tomatoes and heat to boiling. Add lentils and coconut milk, return to boiling, and cook until tender (20-30 minutes), stirring occasionally. Blend half to 2/3 of the soup to a creamy texture and add back to pot. (Be careful blending — it’s hot!)

Stir your choice of parsley, cilantro, lemon juice, and pepper flakes — adding all of them is wonderful, but I almost never have the whole shebang so I end up with some combination thereof. It’s still tasty. The culinate.com editors suggest: If you don’t have a fresh lemon handy, sprinkle some red-wine vinegar into the soup just before serving.

Serve alone or over plain basmati or turmeric rice. Your choice. If you serve it with rice and a simple raita, people will be in awe of your Indian cooking talents.