Go Back

Lentil Soup

I started with this recipe for amounts, but tweaked it for what I had on hand. The following is a rough estimate of what I did.
Servings: 8
Print Recipe

Ingredients  

Ingredients

  • olive oil (for sautéing onions, carrots, celery, & garlic)
  • 1 medium yellow or white onion (chopped)
  • 4 carrots (peeled and chopped)
  • 3 stalks celery (chopped)
  • 4 garlic cloves (pressed or minced)
  • seasonings
  • 1 large can (28 ounces diced tomatoes, lightly drained)
  • 2 cup brown or green lentils (picked over and rinsed)
  • 8 cups chicken broth
  • 4 cups water
  • salt (to taste)
  • pepper (to taste)
  • 14 oz Kielbasa
  • whatever other meat sounds good

Instructions: 

Instructions

  • Sautée the onions, carrots, celery, and any other vegetable that sounds good until they are soft.
  • Pour in the drained diced tomatoes and cook for a few more minutes, stirring often
  • Pour in the lentils, broth, and the water. Add random seasonings (I used Tony's, and with the kielbasa, it made it taste almost like jambalaya)
  • I added the meat here. It made it a bit difficult to remove the lentils for puréeing, but it improved the flavor to have it cook together. You could also heat the meat separately and add it in at the end.
  • Raise heat and bring the mixture to a boil, then partially cover the pot and reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer.
    Cook for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the lentils are tender but still hold their shape.
  • Transfer 2 cups of the soup to a blender. Securely fasten the lid, protect your hand from steam with a tea towel placed over the lid, and purée the soup until smooth. Pour the puréed soup back into the pot. (Or, use an immersion blender to blend a portion of the soup.)
  • Serve while hot. Leftovers will keep well for about 4 days in the refrigerator, or can be frozen for several months (just defrost before serving).

Notes:

It also works to make this in the crockpot. Just cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 6-8 hours, or until the veggies and lentils are soft. You could either put all the ingredients in together, or, for an added dimension to the flavor, do steps 1 and 2, and then add everything to the crockpot.