Red Lentil Mulligatawny with Apple-Celery Salsa

This week my goal is to have way more veggies on our plates than meat. Maybe even crowd out the meat. Why? Because I want us eating more anti-cancer foods. Lentils made that list as well as spices instead of salt. So I did a search for lentils on myrecipes.com and found this soup. It was actually really good and filling (this from a husband who believes in meat for a meal). It was embarrassingly quick and easy to whip up - especially to look so gourmet with the fresh salsa on top. The salsa is the perfect completion to this soup.

Make sure you use red lentils as the green and brown lentils will create a different consistency and taste. Also, if you truly want to make this vegetarian, substitute the magic mineral broth stock for the chicken stock. Enjoy!

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup soup and 1/4 cup salsa)

Salsa:

• 2/3  cup  finely chopped Granny Smith apple
• 1/4  cup  finely chopped celery
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh cilantro
• 1  tablespoon  fresh lime juice

Soup:

• 3 1/2  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1  cup  dried small red lentils
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 1 1/2  cups  light coconut milk
• 3  tablespoons  tomato paste
• 1  teaspoon  grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1/8  teaspoon  ground turmeric
• 1  teaspoon  fresh lime juice
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper

To prepare salsa, combine the first 4 ingredients; cover and chill.

To prepare soup, combine broth, lentils, and onion in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until lentils are tender. Pour half of lentil mixture in a blender; let stand 5 minutes. Process until smooth. Pour pureed lentil mixture into a bowl.

Pour remaining lentil mixture into blender; process until smooth. Add coconut milk, tomato paste, ginger, cumin, and turmeric; process until smooth. Return coconut milk mixture and remaining pureed lentil mixture to pan. Cover and simmer over medium heat 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in 1 teaspoon juice, salt, and pepper. Ladle about 1 cup soup into each of 4 bowls; top each serving with 1/4 cup salsa.