Carrot, Sweet Potato, and Red Lentil Soup with Moroccan Flavors Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Easy, healthy and tasty

Sarah December 29, 2020

Fantastic soup! It’s so rare to find a soup with sweet potato that isn’t too sweet, but that still embraces the flavor. This is a perfect mix. I used garam masala with a bit more cayenne. And in the end, I did stir in some cream which made it a little more deluxe and a little less root-vegetables-are-good-for you.

Cindy October 15, 2019

Loved this! So easy and so full of flavors that I don't typically cook with. Will definitely make again.

This was great. I agree with one commenter that it needed some acid, so I gave it a squeeze of lemon juice. The greek yogurt also gave it some tang. And I'll probably chop up some preserved lemon to add to the leftovers. I also roasted the carrot and sweet potato and cut the stock down to 6 cups, though I ended up needing to thin it out before serving. So maybe 8 cups would have been fine even with the roasted veggies. Overall, definite winner. This will go into our regular soup rotation.

Mae November 18, 2017

Yum! The first time I made this I followed the recipe to a T. This time, I used yellow split peas instead of red lentils (soaked them overnight so they'd cook faster) and I used garam masala instead of Ras el Hanout. So so so good! I love how warm the flavors are. And incredibly easy too!

I don't have red lentils, but I do have brown lentils...would that work?

Magic! I subbed Ras el Hanout with Baharat (allspice, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and coriander) and had a heavy pour on the harissa. Flavor explosion.

I decided to make a meal of this by taking the meat off of a rotisserie chicken and putting it in the serving bowls before ladeling in the hot soup. Also doubled the harissa.
Here's the recipe for making your own Ras el Hanout from the Joy of Cooking cookbook...just mix together the following:
2 tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp ground allspice
2 tsp grated or ground nutmeg
2 tsp ground mace
2 tsp ground cardamom
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground red pepper (I used cayenne)

Skipped the harissa to make it kids-friendly and I didn't miss it. Much much much better the day after. We had it with cilantro for garnish and beetroot bread (http://www.twiggstudios.com/2014/05/beetroot-and-walnut-bread/) on the side. No need to double the recipe for 4 (2 adults and 2 kids), we even had leftovers. Definite keeper.

Does anyone have any idea what the nutritional value of one serving of this soup would be? i.e. calories, carbs, etc.

This still remains my all time favourite soup!

Anna June 26, 2015

I would say that although it was a 30-minute cooking time, the prep took quite a bit longer (granted, I just do things slowly). I didn't have any Harissa, so I exchanged that for some sriracha chilli sauce and a dash of ghost pepper sauce - which was perfect for a slow building but intense kick. My mom and little sister loved it, and so did I!

This soup is the truth. So easy and so good. I made my own paste that resembled harissa by soaking a roasted bell pepper, roasted serrano pepper, roasted red jalapeno and dried guajillo chilies in boiling water and blending with coriander, cumin and salt.

Made this soup and loved it! I used a powdered Harissa, but failed to read the previous comment about halving the amount, so mine turned out extra spicy. It was still good, though. I added some turkey meatballs because I have the kind of hubby that doesn't know what to do it he doesn't see meat on the table, but it wasn't needed; the soup is a very satisfying meal on its own.

byb March 12, 2014

I made this soup last night and it is absolutely wonderful! The flavors compliment each other in a way that I wouldn't have expected. Now, because I'm always up for making extra work for myself, I'm wondering how the results would vary if the carrots and sweet potatoes were roasted a bit at a high temp to brown them a bit before they went into the pot. Has anyone given this a try?

Found this simply searching for a vegetable soup. What a hit with my family. I live in the DC metro area but couldn't find Ras el Hanout. My Moroccan friend had the spice. He brought it back from his homeland. If anyone knows where in Northern Virginia I can find this wonderful spice, it would be greatly appreciated. Also, for those, like me, that have never heard of Harissa paste I found Harissa (which Whole Foods considers a dip) in the refrigerator section. The brand is Cava. Couldn't find "paste" in any international stores. Is there a difference? Also, are all red lentils split?

anne March 2, 2014

I have made this twice now, with various measurements. The first time had no lentils, ras al hanout, harissa. Subbed mousaka spices (cinnamon, corriander, cumin) and chili sambal. Turned out great! Second time, only had half of a sweet potato, used extra carrot. Still delicious. So very warming on a rainy San Francisco night. And the aroma wafting from my apartment, well, a neighbor commented the next day! Thank you for a great soup that is so low on effort and so high in returns.

Thank you for tonight's wonderful dinner.

I made this soup exactly as is right down to the garnishes and it was delicious. The next day, I decided to skip the garnishes and instead added a drizzle of blood orange olive oil...OMG! Out of the world! So, if you ever have the chance to scoop up some blood orange olive oil, go for it and then make this soup. :-)

Question about soups in general. Should the pot be covered or uncovered when simmering? Thanks in advance for your answer.