The night before making this soup, pour the lentils into a bowl of cold water and let them soak overnight.

Start by preheating the oven to 450°F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Score the top of the tomatoes across vertically and then across horizontally. This will ensure the tomatoes don’t burst while they’re cooking. Add these onto the baking tray.

Next, chop the onion into large chunks and add onto the baking tray along with the garlic cloves. Drizzle over the olive oil and bake the veggies in the oven for 45 minutes. The tomatoes should look shriveled, and the onion should have started to burn around the edges — don’t worry it’ll make the soup taste extra yummy!

While the veggies cook, add the soaked and drained lentils into a pot of boiling water. Let the lentils boil away on medium heat for 15-20 minutes until they’re falling apart tender. Then drain the water, rinse and set aside.

Once the veggies are done, let them cool down for 10 minutes. Once cool, peel off the skin of the tomatoes — it’s easier to peel off the skin when the tomatoes are cooler.

Then, add all of the veggies into a blender, along with the water, lentils, coconut milk, tomato paste, lemon juice, ginger and all of the spices. Blend on low, slowly ramping up the speed to high. Continue to blend on high for 3 minutes until the soup is super creamy and thick. Taste and adjust for salt.

Pour the soup into a pot and heat until it’s boiling and hot.

I love serving this soup with a drizzle of coconut milk and chopped cilantro on top with a slice of Ezekiel or sourdough bread. Another more indulgent way to enjoy this soup is to pour it over rice — tastes phenomenal and it’s so cozy and comforting!