6 servingsafricanberbere

Ethiopian Red Lentil Soup

By Pamela Ellgen

6 Servings

less than 15 min

Medium

Recipe Details

Difficulty: Medium

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 5 min

Total Time: less than 15 min

Cooking Technique: Pressure Cook

Cuisine: African

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan

Yield: 6 Servings

Ingredients

2 teaspoons berbere
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 cups dried red lentils
1/3 cup dried onion
2 tablespoons black mustard seeds
9 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

My church shares its building with an Ethiopian congregation, which has introduced me to the spice berbere (BER-bur-ay). It’s actually a spice blend—like curry powder or garam masala—and is comprised of onion powder, cardamom, coriander, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and allspice. I prefer to purchase my spice blend rather than mixing it myself. The pungent flavors and aromas of the spices permeate the red lentils. Make sure to finish the soup off with the lime juice. The black mustard seeds aren’t essential, but they look beautiful in the jar and bring complexity to the otherwise quite simple lentil stew. Jar size: 3 cups

INSTRUCTIONS

Layer the dry ingredients in the jar in the order listed.
Place all of the jarred ingredients into the Instant Pot. Add 9 cups of vegetable broth or water. Stir to mix. Cover with the lid and ensure the vent is in the “sealed” position. Pressure Cook or Manual on High for 5 minutes. Allow the steam pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then release any remaining pressure manually.
Stir in the freshly squeezed lime juice.

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About the chef

Pamela Ellgen

Food writer and cookbook author Pamela Ellgen has written twenty-eight cookbooks, including her latest, The I Love Trader Joe’s Snack Boards Cookbook, to be published by Ulysses Press in December 2023. Other books include The Gluten Free Cookbook for Families: Healthy Recipes in 30 Minutes or Less and bestselling The 5-Ingredient College Cookbook: Easy, Healthy Recipes for the Next Four Years & Beyond. She has also done collaborations with Instant Pot, Beyond Celiac, and Settlers of Catan. Her work has been featured in USA Today, HuffPost, TODAY, Healthline, Outside Magazine, Scary Mommy, and The Pioneer Woman. She has worked as a private chef and taught farm-to-table cooking classes in public schools. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Pamela now lives in sunny Oceanside, California with her fiance and their three boys. She loves surfing, pasta, and wine.

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