Crockpot Recipe for Red Lentil, Chickpea, and Tomato Soup with Smoked Paprika (contributed by Kristin)

Crockpot Recipe for Red Lentil, Chickpea, and Tomato Soup with Smoked Paprika  (contributed by Kristin)

copied from http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2011/03/crockpot-recipe-for-red-lentil-chickpea.html

Crockpot Recipe for Red Lentil, Chickpea, and Tomato Soup with Smoked Paprika
(Makes about 8 servings, recipe created by Kalyn)

1 large yellow onion, diced small
1 T olive oil
1 T minced garlic
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. sweet paprika
(I buy both smoked and sweet paprika from Penzeys or The Spice House)
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. Vege-Sal (or use 1/2 tsp. salt)
fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 cup red lentils
2 cans chickpeas, rinsed
5 C chicken or vegetable stock (or use 3 cans chicken or vegetable broth)
2 cans petite dice tomatoes with juice (14.5 oz. can)
sour cream or plain yogurt for serving, optional

Heat olive oil in frying pan and saute the diced onion until it's soft and starting to brown lightly, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, smoked paprika, sweet paprika, dried thyme, Vege-Sal, and black pepper and saute 2-3 minutes more, or until spices are fragrant.  

Add onion-spice mixture to CrockPot, then rinse out the frying pan with 1 cup of the stock and add to crockpot along with red lentils, rinsed chickpeas, and rest of stock.  Cook on high for 2-3 hours, or until lentils are starting to soften and dissolve into the soup.  (I cooked mine for 2 1/2 hours.  Cooking time will depend partly on how old the lentils are.)

When lentils are starting to soften, add the 2 cans of diced tomatoes with juice.  Cook for 1-2 hours more on high, or until the lentils and chickpeas are both quite soft.  Then remove about 1/2 the soup to a bowl (or the large 8-cup measuring cup I had worked perfectly.)  Puree the soup you removed using an immersion blender, food processor, or blender.  (If you're using a food processor or blender, be very careful with the hot soup, pureeing in batches if necessary.)  

Stir the pureed soup back into the soup in the CrockPot; taste and add more salt or fresh ground black pepper if desired.  Let soup cook about 15 minutes more, then serve hot, with sour cream of plain yogurt if desired.