Curried Carrot and Lentil Soup (good winter soup!)

Found this one in the November 2009 edition of Alive magazine and I've been making it at least once or twice a week since I got it! Nice and spicy but not too much so, just a lovely thing to curl up on the couch with on a cold day!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups sweet onion, diced
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons gingerroot, peeled and minced
• 1 tablespoon red curry paste
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 2 cups carrots, peeled and diced
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 cup dried split red lentils
• 1 cup frozen shelled edamame beans, thawed
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• naan bread (optional)
• sour cream (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan on medium heat. Add ginger, garlic and onion; saute for five minutes or until soft and translucent.
2. stir in curry paste and 1 cup of stock to blend. Add carrots and crushed red pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook until carrots are crisply tender, about 5 minutes; stir.
3. Add remaining stock, lentils, and edamame beans and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes or until lentils are tender. Stir in cilantro, salt and pepper.
4. Spoon into individual serving bowls and serve with naan bread if desired. Soo nice with a tbsp of sour cream on top!