Curried Tomato Lentil Soup (Shorba Addis)

Instructions

1. Over medium-high heat, sauté the onion until it is brown. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the carrot, ginger, garlic, curry powder, and fenugreek, sautéing them for about 1 minute.
2. Add the veggie broth and tomato paste, stirring until the tomato paste is thoroughly combined with the broth. Bring the soup to a simmer. Add the lentils and stir. Once the soup comes back to a simmer, cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Cook the soup for 20 minutes.
3. Add the potato and orzo; cook the soup, covered, for 5 more minutes.
   
   Chef's Notes:
   
   Making It Simple: Bring the veggie broth and tomato paste to a simmer, making sure the tomato paste is thoroughly combined with the broth.
   
   Add the onion, carrot, garlic, ginger, curry, fenugreek, and lentils and proceed with the above recipe as if you had just added the lentils.
   
   The Gourmet Touch: This is an Ethiopian soup, so its flavor is best created using berbere—an Ethiopian curry mix.
   
   Core Concepts: The key to this soup is timing when you add the ingredients. Lentils require time to cook, while diced potatoes and orzo pasta need only a few minutes; these are best added to a soup during the last few minutes of cooking.