Stealin' never tasted so good - Red Lentil Soup with Green Apple Salsa

I admit it, this recipe is not mine. I found it on FatFreeVegan.com, but boy oh boy is it good. So I've stolen it and will share it with you here. There's been some red lentils and coconut milk hanging out in my pantry, so I decided to give them a chance to get to know each other a little more intimately. 

Salsa:

• 2/3 cup finely chopped Granny Smith apple
• 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Soup:

• 3 1/2 cups veggie broth/stock
• 1 cup dried small red lentils
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups coconut milk (original recipe suggests light, but really who are we kidding here?)
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the salsa:

Combine the first 4 ingredients; cover and chill. (that was easy)

For the soup:

Combine broth, lentils, and onion in a large pot over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until lentils are tender. 

Pour half of lentil mixture in a blender; let stand 5 minutes (so that you don't build up to much steam in your blender). Process until smooth and pour the pureed lentil mixture into a bowl. 

Pour remaining lentil mixture into blender; process until smooth. Add coconut milk, tomato paste, ginger, cumin, and turmeric; process until smooth. 

Return coconut milk mixture and remaining pureed lentil mixture to the pot. Cover and simmer over medium heat 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon juice, salt, and pepper. Ladle about 1 cup soup into each of 4 bowls. Don't forget to top each serving with 1/4 cup salsa.

 It is so delicious and so easy and fast, perfect soup for the summer