Lentil Vegetable Soup

Don’t worry, the soup tastes way more flavorful and exciting than the name makes it seem.

When winter rolls around, everyone and their mother starts pulling out their favorite soup recipes. While I know that soups can be delicious, I am just not a soup guy. I’ve never liked the idea that my entire meal would be one homogenized bowl of hot liquid. That being said, I still understand the appeal of cozying up and eating something warm and rich when it starts to get a little cold out.

Last year my roommate made a can of Amy’s Lentil Vegetable Soup. It smelled so good that I asked for a bowl and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Instead of leaving me feeling bogged down like crispy roasted potatoes or a classic winter pot roast would, the soup gave me energy and left me feeling blissful. That soup was the inspiration for this recipe.

This recipe is extremely simple and relies on techniques that highlight the flavors of the vegetables; the end result is a deliciously thick rich soup. I know that most people aren’t big fans of chopping so I apologize in advance, but once you are done with the prep it is a set-it and forget-it type of soup. You might at this point be thinking, “I’ll just dump everything in a food processor". I would highly advise against that. Food processors often break down the cells of vegetables like celery and onions too much and create an abundance of liquid that prevents the vegetables from caramelizing and developing flavor. You’ll just have to rely on your handy dandy kitchen knife for this one - sorry mom.

---

Lentil Vegetable Soup

Recipe

~25 Min Prep

50 Min Cook

5-6 Servings

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, finely diced

• 3 stalks of celery, finely diced

• 4 medium sized carrots (2 finely diced and 2 cut into very thin coins)

• 1 bunch of kale, stemmed and chopped

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt (add more at the end to your taste)

• Pinch of pepper

• 1 cup of rinsed lentils

• 1 (15 oz) can of diced tomatoes

• 32 oz of unsalted vegetable stock (I prefer Kitchen Basics)

• 1 cup water

Steps:

1. Start by chopping all of your vegetables. Place your kale and carrot coins in a separate bowl and set aside.

2. In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil on a medium-high heat for two minutes, or until hot, and then add your finely diced onion, celery, carrots, black pepper, and salt (DO NOT add the carrot coins and kale at this point). Reduce heat to medium and saute the vegetables for 15 minutes stirring frequently.

3. Once vegetables have caramelized, add your lentils and tomatoes. Cook for an additional 8 minutes until the tomatoes have lost their raw flavor.

4. Add the vegetable stock and water then bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling, partially cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.

5. Add the kale and carrot coins into the soup and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until carrots coins are tender. Adjust seasoning as desired and enjoy with a warm crusty loaf of bread or all by itself!

Notes:

- The soup will be on the thicker side, on the border of a stew and a soup.

- The carrots coins should be tender, but still have a slight bite to them.