Yemenite Lentil Soup with Noodles & Tomatoes

Yemenite Lentil Soup with Noodles & Tomatoes
From Faye Levy's Healthy Cooking for the Jewish Home

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 35-40 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1½ cups red lentils, picked over for little stones, rinsed & drained
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
4-5 cups water or vegetable broth
1 can (19oz/540ml) tomatoes (I bought the kind already diced, and didn’t drain as the recipe suggests – tasted delicious anyway)
1 tsp ground cumin
¼ - ½ tsp turmeric
3oz/85g thin pasta like vermicelli or spaghettini, broken into 3”-4” lengths (about a cup)
Freshly ground black or cayenne pepper

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan (I used my Dutch oven) and sauté the onions over medium low heat until they are golden (about 7-8 minutes). Remove half the onions and set aside.

2. Add the lentils and liquid to the remaining onions in the pot and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Puree the tomatoes in a blender or food processor. Add the tomatoes, cumin & turmeric to the pot and simmer for another 15 minutes or until the red lentils are very soft.

4. In the meantime, boil salted water for the pasta. Five minutes before serving, cook the pasta until just tender. Drain and add to the soup pot along with the remaining onions.

Add black or cayenne pepper and serve hot.