With the cold Canadian winter upon us, it is hard not to dream of a hearty, steaming bowl of soup. On one such cold afternoon with the soundtrack of howling winds playing in the background, I found myself torn between the oh so delicious Middle Eastern Lentil Soup and the lovely aroma and taste of a Tom Yum Soup from Thailand. So a voice inside my head said why not make both. And I thought, why not! And as it turns out, the voice was right, it turned out to be delicious soup with a lovely aroma and wonderful taste. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Lentil Tom Yum Soup!

Lentil Tom Yum Soup

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Red Lentil
1-2 generous teaspoon Tom Yum Paste, to taste
4-6 Lime Leaves
Water or Vegetable Stock
Salt
3-4 Inch Lemon Grass, (optional)
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric (optional)
Salt
Oil

Wash the lentils and set aside.

In a pan, heat a little oil and add the tom yum paste. Stir it until it becomes aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add lime leaves, lemon grass, turmeric, lentils and water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cook until the lentils are cooked but not paste. Add salt to taste. Remove from heat. Remove the lemon grass and lime leaves before serving. Now it is ready to be served!

Makes enough for one large bowl of soup for one or two small servings.

Note:

• You can add more or less tom yum paste as per your taste. This recipe is quite mild. The spice level will also vary based on your paste.
• I have added the turmeric to get a nice golden colour.
• You can add shrimp or chicken to this soup. Add them to the tom yum paste and saute for about a minute and then add the rest of the ingredients. Also, increase the amount of tom yum by another teaspoon to adjust for the extra ingredient.