Ina Garten has a wonderful lentil vegetable soup recipe in her first book The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, which is what this recipe is based on. I wanted to make a soup that was hearty and filling but didn’t want anything creamy. (I usually tend towards cream-based soups and chowders). You can use French green lentils, but this recipe also works beautifully with red lentils. Finally, in lieu of stock, I used 2 tbsp vegetable stock concentrate and 6 cups of water. Feel free to use vegetable stock, chicken stock, or even beef stock. This is a great recipe to make over the weekend to then enjoy throughout the week.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Serves 4-6 people
Ingredients
8 oz. French green lentils
2 tbsp olive oil
2 c chopped onions (2 medium-sized onions)
1/2 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp each of salt, ground cumin, dried thyme, and black pepper
2 celery stalks, chopped
2-3 carrots, chopped
6 cups vegetable stock
2 tbsp tomato paste
Preparation
In a medium bowl, cover lentils with boiling water and allow to soak for 15 minutes. Drain.
In a large pot over medium heat warm up your olive oil, then add your onions, garlic, salt, cumin, thyme, and black pepper. Saute for about 10 minutes, until the onions are really soft and translucent. Add celery and carrots and saute for 10 more minutes. To help this along I cover the pot in order for the steam to really soften the vegetables.
Add in your stock, tomato paste, and lentils and bring to a boil.
Once you come to a boil reduce the heat to a simmer. Continue to simmer for around 45 minutes, uncovered, then check for seasoning.
Serve your lentil vegetable soup piping hot, and preferably with some freshly baked bread.