Lentils are a great source of iron, fibre, protein, folate, and several vitamins. Not only are lentils quite healthy, but they have a pleasant taste and a shelf life that lasts, making them easy to store and save until needed. Lentils make an excellent soup. Try this recipe for lentil soup with celery, carrot and tomato.
This recipe serves two or three. Increase the ingredients accordingly for larger pans of soup.
Ingredients:
- 2 or 3 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 small onion
- 2 stalks of celery
- 10 to 15 baby carrots
- 1 tomato
- Butter or oil as needed during cooking
- 4 1/2 cups water
- 1 cup lentils
- 1 tsp. basil
- 1 1/2 tsp. parsley
- 1 tsp. thyme
- 1/2 tsp. caraway seeds
- 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
- 1 1/2 tsp. Italian Spice
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
*Spices measurements are approximate.
Directions:
- Chop the garlic and onion into small pieces and place in a medium saucepan.
- Chop one stalk of celery and half the carrots into finely chopped pieces. A Slap Chop works well for this step, as you can easily “Slap Chop” the celery and carrots until they are in tiny pieces. Otherwise, try slicing the carrot and celery, then turn the knife sideways and cut through your slices. Turn the knife back to its original position and cut again. Continuing this pattern helps cut the vegetables into finely chopped pieces.
- Thinly slice the rest of the celery and carrots and dice the tomato.
- In butter or olive oil, sauté the garlic and onion on medium to low heat until limp.
- Add finely chopped celery and carrots and sauté on low heat for several minutes or until the carrot and celery juices create an almost pulp-like mixture. You may find that you need to add butter or oil as you add vegetables. Try not to allow the sauté mixture to dry out.
- Add chopped celery and carrot and sauté on medium heat for approximately 5 minutes.
- Add water, raise heat and bring to a boil.
- Add lentils to the boiling water, set heat to low or minimum and allow to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Add spices as the water boils and simmers. Stir occasionally.
- After 15 minutes, add diced tomato.
Lentil Soup Cooking Tips:
Be sure to follow package instructions for lentils. They may have to be rinsed or picked through for foreign matter before cooked.
Lentils easily soak up water, expand and become soft. The soup will be thick if it simmers too long. If the soup is too thick after simmering for 20 minutes, simply add a little water.
Lentils also tend to absorb salt. Try not to oversalt the soup, even if it cannot be tasted quite so well, as too much salt can be unhealthy. Instead, add more spices to taste or consider using less lentils. Caraway and fennel tend to be stronger spices and may be tasted more than the others. They are a refreshing addition to lentil soup.
Enjoy the health benefits of lentils with this simple recipe for lentil soup. Add carrots, celery, tomato, and several spices for additional health benefits and flavour.
Sources:
"The Health Benefits of Lentils." Elements4Health.com
"Power Food: Lentils." WholeLiving.com
Michelle Wright - Michelle is an avid reader and writer, with a focus on book, film and music reviews, gluten free recipes, and fiction writing "how-tos."
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