Spicy Lentil Soup

Miss Yunks’ kitchen remodel is complete and home cooking has resumed! My first cold of the season had hit and I decided to make a hot, spicy and hearty soup to soothe my throat and knock the cold out of my system. I always crave spicy foods when I’m feeling sick and believe they kill the germs. I knew we had lentils at home so I did a quick search for a spicy lentil soup.

I chose this Spicy Lentil Soup recipe from Food Network. It seemed simple enough to make on a work night and spicy enough to deliver the flavor I wanted.  I followed the recipe pretty closely, except I used part of a jalapeño pepper and part of a serrano pepper. After tasting the finished soup I realized I should’ve used the more serrano pepper; it wasn’t quite spicy enough. I didn’t have turmeric, so I substituted cayenne pepper, saffron threads and ground mustard. The end result was a hot tasty and protein filled soup with a spicy kick that I looked forward to eating each night until my cold was gone. I topped the soup with greek yogurt and served with warmed naan bread as suggested.

What’s your favorite soup to eat when you’re sick?