Ottolenghi's Thai Red Lentil Soup with Aromatic Chile Oil
Sweet lord. Double this recipe. Don't question me. Don't doubt me. Just do as I say, not as I did. Because the sheer tragedy of this recipe is that I did not double it, and the amount of left overs was paltry, indeed. And this soup is really good. As in, really, really, I-cannot-find-the-words-so-I-will-just-repeat- really , really good. And it's so good not for any one particular reason. It truly is the sum of its parts. The savory and creamy red lentil soup has these aromatic hints of makrut lime and lemongrass, the chile oil bursts with lemon and star anise, and the parboiled peas add just the right sweetness and crunch. Sure, sure, you might scoff at the long list of ingredients. You might even balk at having to hunt some of them down. (Yep, fresh makrut lime leaves can be a bear to find sometimes. But you can find dried ones here. ) Even culinary hero Yotam Ottolenghi himself champions messi...