Lentil Soup

Houston is (finally) experiencing winter weather! It's been in the 40's this week (yes, that is full fledged winter here in Texas) and all I could think of was soup. And, I got my first Dutch oven for Christmas. I couldn't ignore this. I needed to make soup! So, I put together some lentil soup and it totally hit the spot.



Beware: This soup takes about an hour in cooking time. Don't make this on the verge of hunger...start way ahead of time. In fact, this is the perfect Sunday afternoon cooking job. And it will last you a few days into the week, too.

2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 cup yellow lentils, cleaned
6-8 cups water or vegetable stock
red pepper flakes (at least 1 tsp, more if desired)
salt and pepper

1. Heat up a Dutch oven or a pot with a tight fitting lid with the olive oil. Add the chopped onion and garlic and sweat the onions. Add the cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

2. Add the celery and carrots and sautee. After about 7 mins, add the chopped tomatoes.

3. Add the cleaned lentils and stock or water and cover the pot. Stir every 15 mins.

4. Once the lentils are tender, about 45-55 mins, put about 2/3 of the cooked soup into a blender and blend until smooth. Return to pot and adjust seasonings.

If you like smooth, velvety soup, you can blend the entire batch. I like it smooth but with a little texture, hence the 2/3's deal.

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a few turns of fresh ground pepper. Yum!