Tomato Lentil Soup
Tomato Lentil Soup
This is a souper Sunday afternoon soup. It smells great while it's cooking, tastes terrific for dinner and makes a great weekday lunch.
Ingredients
- 1 cup French Lentils or green lentils
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium Onion diced - optional
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large carrot diced
- 1 stalk celery diced
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
- 1 rind Parmesan cheese or 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 14oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 small bay leaves
- 5 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Rinse the lentils and pick out any small stones. I love the look of these beautiful French lentils (which I found at the Mississippi Market Coop), but green lentils work great too
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onions, carrots and celery - sauté until they begin to soften - about 5 minutes
- Add the minced garlic, thyme, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Sauté for a couple of minutes to toast the herbs
- Add the tomatoes and sauté until the tomatoes become fragrant and the liquid reduces a bit - about 10 minutes
- Add the lentils and parmesan rind (if adding)
- Add the broth and bay leaves
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the lentils are al dente (or longer if you like softer lentils) about an hour. Remove the parmesan rind and bay leaves
- Serve with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and your favorite crusty bread. Yum!
Notes
This recipe is adapted from a NY Times Cooking recipe