For lunch today, I threw together a soup from the pantry. We’ve had some green lentils in the cupboard for quite some time, so I dug those out and made a French-style lentil soup.
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium carrots, chopped fine
1 large stalk celery, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 cup lentils, rinsed and sorted
4 cups broth (beef, chicken or vegetable-whatever you have on hand)
1 15 oz can diced tomato
2 tsp thyme (or more to taste)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp pepper (or more, to taste)
Salt, to taste
Methods
Saute mirepoix over medium heat until translucent and starting to color. Add garlic, and continue cooking another 30 seconds. Add lentils, seasonings, and broth. Bring to a boil, then let simmer until lentils are tender, about 45 minutes. At that point add the tomatoes and continue cooking another 5 minutes. If you want a slightly thicker consistency, use an immersion blender for a few seconds to break up some of the soup.
This is a simple, healthy, yet surprisingly filling soup that is particularly good for cold winter days. As with most soups, it goes very well with buttered toast.
Fencers+Knives+Heat=Cooking? 