Recipe: Lentil Soup

The weather’s getting chilly, and it feels like soup weather. Soup is one of the easiest meals to make, there are endless variations to try, and you can make a big batch and save some to freeze so you’ll always have a healthy meal on hand.

This week I made some lentil soup, which was delicious (if I do say so myself), and I even pureed some for my 9-month old baby, who also enjoyed it! The great thing about this soup is that you can’t really go wrong, with whatever veggies you happen to have. So if you want to throw in pumpkin, or parsnip, celery, or kale, it will be just as good.

Lentil Soup
Serves: about 15 servings (more or less depending on how big your bowl!)

Ingredients:

Dried lentils – I used a 27oz bag of red lentils
2 liters vegetable stock
2 large peeled, chopped potatoes
5 peeled, chopped carrots
Pureed tomatoes – I used 26oz
1 yellow onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
1 cup baby spinach leaves
1 pint white mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup white or red wine (optional)
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large (very large) saucepan, heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and saute until browned. Add the vegetable stock, vegetables, bay leaves, and lentils to the onion and garlic. (You can add some wine to the stock as well, if you happen to have any open, but this is optional). Reduce heat to very low, and stir occasionally. Add water, or extra vegetable stock if you have it, as the soup thickens, but the consistency of the soup is your own personal taste. Since I used potatoes as well as lentils, my soup ended up being quite thick. After an hour, add the fresh herbs and a little salt and pepper, keep cooking on a low heat for about another 30 minutes. Keep tasting the soup, and add salt and pepper to taste. Don’t forget to fish out the bay leaves before serving and storing!

Lentil soup = big hit!!

I kept the recipe pretty simple in terms of spices, since my little guy was going to share, but you could add chili, or cumin, or add bacon or sausage. A friend of mine uses Thai chili paste and cilantro in her soup, which is so good (but spicy!). There really are endless variations, and it’s a perfect cold weather meal with some fresh, warm bread to help mop up your bowl.

Enjoy!