Exotic Spiced Lentil and Tomato Soup

Why I Love This Recipe
As with all of my recipes, I began planning it weeks ago in my trusty recipe planner. A couple of attempts later and here you have it! This soup shares many of the tastes you’d find in a curry, but is light and playful and combines fantastically with a warmed grain or crackers.
Ingredients You'll Need
2 cups green lentils, cooked
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
2 carrots, diced – do not peel!
10 hot house tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup tomato paste
2 1/2 cups water + 1.5 cubes of vegetable bouillon OR 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
3 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground anise seed
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp whole mustard seed
1/2 tsp Himalayan rock salt
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp ground all spice
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
cayenne pepper to garnish – can also be added into the soup while cooking
Directions
Heat oil in a large saucepan. Once heated, add onion, garlic, ginger, and carrot. Saute until onions are translucent.
Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cook for 25 minutes.
Remove from heat and serve with a sprinkle of cayenne to those that want it.