Citrusy Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup Recipe (2024)

Whenever making a western-based soup, I use homemade vegetable broth instead of water because it adds layers of depth of flavor and nutrients that brings a good soup to a great soup.

Question: Do you think I could get away with using kale/spinach instead of the chard for this?

I protest this discrimination against sweet(and other varieties) potato skins. They are very nutritious. After WWII my parents and siblings were interned in a DP(displaced persons) Camp near Munich, Germany. Food was not plentiful. German housewives were very fastidious. Potatoes were peeled over newspaper. The newspapers were folded into little bundles and placed on top of the trash. My mom would pick up these packages and make nutritious & filling meals for her family from these scraps.

Made this with ingredients on hand (onions instead of scallions, pickled jalapeños instead of fresh), and even with those modifications, it was really good. Possibly because my dried green lentils had been around for a while, the sweet potatoes were softer than I like by the time the lentils were cooked through. If your lentils have been in your cupboard for a while, consider cutting the sweet potatoes a bit larger.

I made this last month and froze the leftovers. Took it out of the freezer to almost defrost overnight. Sautéed ground beef and added the stew. Mixing til combined and heated through. It was even better tho not vegan.

All lentils can be used interchangeably. Green ones hold their shape better than brown lentils which get soft and can be mashed. I only have brown ones which I will use when I make this soup. It sounds yummy

There's a considerable difference in both size and volume between two lemons and two limes.

I made this soup last night and it was SO GOOD! I substituted the chard with fresh spinach since chard wasn't available in my grocery store. I stemmed the spinach and added the lemon juice, jalapeno slices, and salt as directed. It was just perfect on top of the soup. This recipe is definitely a keeper.

Made this last night, almost as written but with vegetable broth and water rather than just water. Everything else the same. It was good, but not excellent. My kids did like it a lot, so that's a win, and it was very easy to make. The quick-pickled chard stems and jalapeno was great. I think if I make it again I'll use a larger sweet potato and leave more of the jalapeno seeds in. Anyway I think it's worth making because it's so incredibly quick and easy, even if it's a little bit underwhelming.

I made this yesterday, and the only thing I did different was use chicken broth instead of water. I like the depth of flavor and savoriness meat broths add to meatless soups. I put it in the fridge and forgot about it until tonight. It is fantastic!!! I left the jalapeño in so it’s got a little bit of an extra kick. And I love the lemon juice marinated chad stems. I can’t stand vinegar and the lemon juice marinade is brilliant.

Sure. Sometimes I just throw in a bag of frozen spinach.

Extraordinarily delicious for the simplicity of the ingredients that it uses and quick to make for a soup. I used a chile de árbol instead of fresh jalapeño in the broth and pickle because that’s what I had. Zested the lemon before juicing it and added to the stems. Used 1 tsp each of both cumin & coriander in the broth. Don’t skip the coriander or the pickle, for me those were the special touches. Kale can be used instead of chard, cut stems thinly & let sit at least 15 min in the lemon.

Please explain "thinly slice the chard stems all the way to the leaves." It looks like stems have been cut out of leaf and then thinly sliced cross-wise.

30 minutes?

More cohesive sense: Strain the chard stems, add all of jalapeño-lemon juice to pot of soup. Top bowls with pickled stems. Ahh, isn’t that better?

I love that this recipe uses the entire chard stalk!I knew that I would like the extra spice in my soup, so I chopped 1/2 the jalapeno and sauteed it with the scallions. I kept the seeds in the second half, which I sliced and pickled with the chard stalks. Overall, healthy, quick and easy dinner!

NYT: put in the bay leafLater: add lots of other green leavesFinally: now dig through all those cooked leaves to find the one cooked leaf you’re not supposed to eat

This was very good and, I think, quite adaptable. As others noted, French green lentils take longer to cook. Mine simmered about 45 minutes in total for a nice creamy, but still distinct, texture. I cut the sweet potatoes in larger chunks and added them about 20 minutes in. They were tender but not mushy. At the start, I sautéed a large leek instead of the scallions and I used one whole Serrano (seeded) in the sauté and one in the topping ‘cuz we like it hot.

Second time making this. Easy, healthy and hearty. Enjoyed. Required much more salt and double the cumin/coriander to get the flavor to my liking. I used a large jalapeño and didn’t get much heat. Will leave some seeds in next time. Can’t help but think parmesan rind would improve this recipe. Will try next time.

This was fine, but I liked it much more the next day when I added a little more lemon juice and puréed it. The it went from 3 stars to a solid 4.

I didn’t love this. The broth seemed watery and the pickled chard stems were just odd.

A keeper! Loved this soup, great flavor.

As suggested in the Cooking Notes, I used vegetable broth and I think using it instead of water contributed to the flavor. I will make this super-simple dish again but I'd add more chard and/or spinach. I'd also add more jalapeños. Perhaps the one that I used wasn't hot enough for my family. Of perhaps a touch of cayenne pepper for increased heat.

I made this substantially as written but waited 5 minutes after the broth and lentils before adding the sweet potato based on other comments. The sweet potato still had a bit of firmness and was not too soft when lentils were finished. The quick-pickled chard stems (or equivalent alternate) are essential. Will definitely make it again.

I can’t do garlic or jalapeños. What alternatives would you all suggest?

I made this exactly according to the recipe and it was absolutely delicious! One of the strangest soup recipes I’ve ever made, for sure, but worth it. Will definitely put it in rotation. A surprisingly light and fresh soup for a cold winter day.

Jalapeño doesn’t make it spicy enough, add Trader Joe’s chili onion crumble after.

Delicious. Using broth instead of water rounded the soup out a bit. With only brown lentils on hand, I reduced the cooking time a little so they’d keep their shape. A winner in our house.

Delicious! Wonderful depth of flavors. The crunch and citrus burst from biting into a piece of the chard stem “relish” adds pizzazz.

I replaced one of the cups of water with orange juice, for another citrus flavor. Really good!