Spiced Red Lentils & Carrot Soup with Grilled Blue Cheese Fingers

In my opinion (I do have way too many) there are 3 different kinds of Soup people in this world.

1. The Broth people: How any human being doesn’t need a meal 10 minutes after having a bowl of brothy soup is beyond me. But hey, that’s just my opinion.

2. The Chunky Soup people: Oh and call it Soup all you want, that’s a whole entire meal and you know it.

3. The Thick Soup people: It’s Purée. Call it Purée. I belong to this category but I’ll be honest and call it Purée. Just own it.

Know any more Soup people kinds? I’d love to hear all about them.

But for now here’s my new Spiced Red Lentils & Carrot Soup recipe and it’s made instantly in the Instant Pot. I decided to serve it in a shot glass with some Grilled Blue Cheese fingers but feel free to have it your way. Quick, easy, and pretty appetizers are my favorite kind. This ones quite healthy too because there’s no cream or butter. Sure you can add some if you’re into that but I can guarantee you won’t be needing any. I recommend you eat this meal clean but that’s again, just my opinion.

Ingredients (soup)

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1 inch piece of ginger
• 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into big chunks
• 1/2 cup red lentils (masoor dal), washed & soaked
• 2 cups water + extra to adjust the consistency.
• Salt
• Pepper (freshly ground is better)
• 1-2 tsp Himalayan sea salt
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp cinnamon sugar

Preparation

1. Set the Instant Pot on Sauté mode. Heat the oil. Add all the ingredients in order and mix.
2. Close the lid and seal.
3. Set on soup mode for 8 minutes.
4. Let the pressure release naturally.
5. Blend once slightly cool and adjust the consistency & seasoning.

Ingredients (grilled blue cheese fingers)

• Whole grain bread slices
• Crumbled blue cheese
• Olive oil

Preparation

1. Sandwich a healthy amount of crumbled blue cheese in between 2 slices of bread
2. Drizzle some olive oil on a hot frying pan.
3. Grill the sandwich on low to medium heat for an even golden brown color.
4. Drizzle some olive oil on the top slice before flipping it over. Takes about 2 minutes on each side.
5. Let it rest on the chopping board for a couple minutes before cutting them into appropriately half inch sized fingers.
6. Serve with hot soup, shot glasses optional of course!