Hi friends. Did you think I forgot about you? Did you think, “thank goodness — I never have to pretend I care about her random Internet musings again!” Or are you one of those people who are only here for the recipe?
I don’t blame you, today’s recipe is well worth skipping over anything I have to say. (Not that I have a lot to say: I’ve been head-down in a bunch of really exciting things, both professionally and personally, but I can’t really talk about them yet because I don’t want to jinx them, so … )
But in this crazy busy time, I haven’t been able to cook very often, which means I’ve been buying my lunch far more frequently than my bank account likes. And lest you think that that means all sorts of exciting salads and sandwiches and grain bowls, I’ll be honest: mostly it means a lot of lentil soup.
It’s a bit of a joke among my foodie co-workers how often I go to the Pret A Manger down the block from my office, but I’ll stan for Pret any day. Or at least its lentil soup. It’s hearty and filling and all the things you would expect from a bowl of lentils, but somehow doesn’t feel heavy or nap-inducing. There’s a brightness to it, likely from the hit of vinegar added at the end (I assume), and the caramelized onions add sweetness and almost a creaminess that make lentils the stuff of dreams.
In the past two months, I’ve made this lentil soup four times, which when you consider that I’ve only cooked six times total, should give you a sense of how much I love this soup. My version, using this Well+Good recipe as a jumping off point, is a bit more intensely spiced than the Pret version, and I doubled up on the vegetables. But I’ve compared it to the original a few times, and it holds up. Definitely worth skipping straight to the recipe for!
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A Pret-Inspired Lentil Soup
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4–5 shallots (or 1 medium yellow onion), sliced
- a hefty pinch of sugar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium carrots, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon harissa
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1–1/2 cups lentils
- 3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 3 cups water
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon balsamic or red wine vinegar
Instructions
- In a large heavy-bottomed pot, melt the butter until foaming. On medium-low heat, add the shallots and sugar and saute, stirring occasionally, until the shallots have caramelized, about 20-25 minutes.
- Add the oil. Stir in the carrots, celery and garlic, and saute for 3-5 minutes, until the garlic has softened slightly. Add the tomato paste, harissa, smoked paprika, garam masala, coriander, cinnamon and cayenne. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, until the spices are fragrant and have darkened slightly.
- Add the lentils, vegetable broth, and water, stirring the bottom of the pot to scrape up any browned bits. Increase the heat and bring the stew to a boil, then reduce the heat to a bare simmer and cook the lentils for 20-25 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, and stir in the vinegar, then serve.
Notes
Adapted from Well + Good
Thanks for sharing! What kind of lentils do you use? Are they pre-soaked?
WAY too much heat in this – i like heat, but it overpowers all other flavors and I had to use more vinegar to cut it. Also the time to cook green/brown lentils is off – it takes at least 35 min at a simmer, not 25, and this soup was too watery so I had to boil off some of the liquid, not thick and hearty like Pret’s soup. It’s a shame, since I love Pret’s soup, but this tastes nothing like it. It was off texturally and flavor wise
I just made this. It’s amazing and really, really easy. Also, very inexpensive. I love Pret so I was hoping this would measure up, and it’s literally exactly the same. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for creating and sharing the recipe! I moved from NY to FL about two years ago and have been craving this soup! I agree with LNG. If I were to make this again, I would either eliminate or do 1/8 tsp Cayenne, and simmer for 35-40 minutes. I think Pret might also have some herbs (parsley, thyme) and lemon mixed in at the end. And perhaps a bit of ginger? I’ll use this as a foundation and try tweaking next time. Thanks again!
I made this and the first time following the it exactly and decided the second time around I need to make some adjustments. I wouldn’t recommend using cinnamon and cayenne pepper since harissa already has that included in it. I also added an extra cup of water and 2 cups of lentils. I added a Brazilian touch and added Knorr chicken block instead of adding all the salt. Try it promise it is better
I’ve made this recipe a few times and found that if you over cook everything and mush it up a bit it is more the texture of prets. I also added a potato some ginger oregano and basil. I didn’t have harissa so I just blended up some red bell pepper and it was the best I’ve made so far! Even if you don’t modify the recipe it’s really tasty