Lentil Soup

Lentil Soup



Over the years, I've made lentil soup a number of times.  It's never been so great that I wanted to make the recipe again.  But I keep trying.

This recipe is a keeper and it's incredibly simple. Perhaps with previous recipes I was just trying to hard.  I think what brings this recipe over the top is the garnishes. In each bowl of soup, I am topping the hot soup with some fresh Italian flat leaf parsley and a splash of balsamic vinegar.  So good!  The recipe specifies you can add the vinegar into the entire pot of the soup when you are seasoning the soup with salt and pepper at the very end of cooking.  I am adding a little vinegar to each bowl of soup just before serving.  The aroma is fantastic when the vinegar hits the hot soup and I love how fresh and grassy the parsley tastes when you stir it into the soup. 

The recipe is from "Epicurious".  I got seven servings out of one pot of soup.  I did used 1 1/2 cups of lentils instead of 1 1/4 because I wanted to use up what I had.  I used less oil than the recipe called for and it worked out just fine.  Finally, I used chicken broth in place of vegetable broth since chicken broth is what I had on hand.  Aside from that, I did not make any changes to the recipe.

LENTIL SOUP
Recipe Link is HERE

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (I used only 1 tablespoon)
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery stalks
1 cup chopped carrots
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bay leaf
4 cups (or more) vegetable broth (I used 4 cups chicken broth plus 1 cup water)
1 1/4 cups lentils, picked over, rinsed, drained (I used about 1 1/2 cups)
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice

Toppings: balsamic vinegar and fresh Italian flat leaf parsley

Instructions: Heat oil in heavy large sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery, and carrots; saute until vegetables begin to brown (about 15 minutes). Add in garlic and bay leaf; saute one additional minute, stir a few times to prevent garlic from burning.  Add in broth, lentils, and canned tomatoes (with juice), and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until lentils are tender (about 35 minutes).  [Note: I live at high altitude; I let my soup simmer about 45 minutes and the lentils still have a little bite to them.  Also, I added an additional cup of hot water when my soup was simmering as it was becoming a little thick looking].

If desired, transfer about 2 cups of soup (mostly solids) to a blender and blend until smooth; return soup puree to the pan. You can opt to NOT puree any of your soup (I did not blend any of my soup). Add additional broth or water if necessary if soup is too thick.  Season with salt and pepper as desired. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar as desired. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.

I did contemplate trying another lentil soup recipe.  Here is the recipe; perhaps you might like to try it!  Link:  https://www.cookingclassy.com/mexican-lentil-soup/