Mediterranean Lentil Soup

This recipe is verrrry flexible with regards to every ingredient. If there’s something in here you know you don’t like, leave it out or use less. For thicker soup, use less water; for thin soup, use more. My personal preference is about four cups of water and 1 cup of lentils, and then as the soup cooks, I add more water if it starts to look too thick. (With very little water, this also makes a great dip for vegetables.)

1 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 large onions, chopped
½-1 tsp red pepper flakes (to taste)
4-6 cups water
1 cup red lentils (or more), rinsed
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
½ tsp pepper
pinch of saffron (not important but tasty!)
2 Tbsp brown rice, uncooked
Lemons

Other optional ingredients:
Garlic
Seaweed
Root vegetables, cut into small chunks – carrots, parsnips
Cabbage

Heat oil in saucepan and saute onions and pepper flakes over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients EXCEPT LEMONS and bring to boil. Cover and cook over med-low heat for 40 minutes. At this point, you can stir it a little or a lot, depending on if you want it creamy or chunky. More stirring = creamier soup. Or, you can puree* the soup to make it perfectly smooth. Serve with generous sprinklings of lemon.

* Puree right in the pot with an (indispensable) immersion blender (~$25), or cool before transferring to a blender or you can burn the hell out of yourself. Ask me how I know this.