The Black Lentil Soup Recipe to cozy up to

On today's menu, a simple recipe that's hearty and delicious. An extraordinary black lentil soup. Lei Hou Ma, how's it going Cantonese? Welcome to Young Man Cooking, I'm Will Young. Join me in this episode as we make a delicious, easy recipe that's perfect for meal prep as well. As always, if you enjoy today's episode, be sure to give it a thumbs up, leave a comment below. Let's begin. Slice down the leek three quarters of the way, then turn it on the other side and slice down three quarters of the way. This will make it easier to wash the leek as they're notorious for storing dirt and sand. Finely chop the leek. Leeks have a sweeter and more delicate flavor than a regular onion, but of course you can use a regular onion in this recipe, it'll be just as delicious. Five to six pieces of garlic. You can never have too much garlic. Roughly chop the garlic. Two carrots, finely chopped. The carrots will add a beautiful pop of color, become tender in texture, and add some natural sweetness. Chop down three potatoes into bite-sized cubes. In this episode, I'm using yellow potatoes for their nice butteriness, but of course you can use russet potatoes if that's what you have on hand. Dice two tomatoes. This recipe should be good for about four to six portions. These are black lentils, also called beluga lentils. This will add incredible body to the soup and a very robust earthy flavor. Two cups of black lentils. Give the lentils a quick rinse and drain, then set aside. Stock pot. Medium heat. Two tablespoons olive oil. Leeks and garlic. Saute for four to five minutes. Leeks and garlic adds amazing flavor and makes a great base to any soup. Carrots. Saute for a few minutes. One tablespoon salt. One tablespoon cumin. Half tablespoon sweet paprika. Half tablespoon turmeric. And an optional teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Give the pot a good stir. Tomatoes. Give the pot a good stir and use the juices from the tomatoes to deglaze the pan. Add in the black lentils. Potatoes. Give the pot a good stir. Add in two and a half liters or 10 cups of water. You can definitely use unsalted veggie stock as well. It's completely up to you. Give the pot a good stir and turn up the heat to bring to a boil. You can cover the pot with a lid, but be sure to keep an eye on it in case it boils over. When it comes to a boil, give the soup a good stir, then let it simmer on medium low for one hour. While we wait for it to simmer, I just want to take a quick moment to thank you for watching the show. There's about 600 episodes on the channel now, which is absolutely insane. Being able to cook together here on YouTube really is a treat. And if you've ordered our cookbooks, a big thank you. It really means a lot. All right, let's check out that soup. Transfer about five to six cups of the soup into a blender. If you have a stick blender, you can blend right in the pot. Blend on medium high for about 25 seconds. This helps add a really nice thick texture to the soup. Very carefully pour the soup back into the pot. Give the pot a good stir and you'll really see the soup come together. Plate the soup generously. Garnish with some freshly chopped parsley and some flaky salt to serve. You can now get cozy with this delicious soup with absolute confidence. Man, that looks so cozy. That is really like a big warm hug in a bowl. Visually, I love how casual, how rustic, how earthy it is, but has those pops of green color from that fresh parsley. Just makes it really stand out. Just from that first bite, it's so comforting, so cozy, so nourishing, and just so delicious. It has such a robust, earthy flavor. And that beautiful aromatic cumin really shines through. The black lentils are just stunning and they really substantiate the soup along with the melt-in-your-mouth tender potatoes. The carrots will add a little bit of that pop of color as well and the natural sweetness. And all of that garlic and leeks just melt into the soup. The turmeric gives the soup a little bit of a golden glow. The texture is just creamy, it's velvety, and it has such a rich mouthfeel. This is definitely a nice recipe to make ahead of time, so you can enjoy this for many meals to come. Like I always say, this is something you can make in the comfort of your own home, but looks incredible enough to serve at an amazing restaurant. It's recipes like this that makes it so much fun and so exciting to cook at home. If you love easy, delicious recipes like me, definitely check out or pick up your copy of one of the four Young Man Cooking cookbooks. There's a link in the description box below where you can check out the print or digital version of these books along with the other Young Man Cooking merch. Of course, as always, if you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to give it a thumbs up, leave a comment below. If you're not already subscribed with that notification bell clicked, remember to do so so that we can cook together again in the next episode.