Free Soup

This week we are doing Lentil Soup. I like lentils because it doesn't take many to pack a nutritional punch. They are nature's little powerhouse, after all. Lentils work well in both hot and cold applications, but I like them best in soup. There are any variations on Lentil Soup. I have recipes with cabbage and tomatoes, barley and mushrooms, and my very, very favorite, mujaddara, which is not really a soup, but I always think of it that way. But today we are doing a traditional lentil and vegetable soup.


3c brown lentils
2 onions, med dice
2 carrots, med dice
3 stalks of celery, med dice
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2T Olive Oil
2lbs or 1 large can of tomatoes, chopped or diced
2 quarts good chicken stock. Use vegetable stock to make this a vegan dish.
1 bunch of interesting greens, chopped. (I have used spinach, chard, bok choy, napa cabbage, green cabbage, collards and mustard greens. Just be aware that different greens have different cooking times and you want them to be a fresh addition, not swampy.)
1t cinnamon
1t cumin
1t cardamom
1t ginger
1t coriander
2T salt
1t black pepper

In your soup pot over medium high heat, saute the onions, carrots, celery and garlic in the olive oil until the garlic begins to soften and brown around the edges. Toss in the cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, ginger, coriander, salt, and pepper and continue to saute for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, scraping up the fond from the bottom of the pot. Add the chicken stock, 2 quarts of water, and the lentils to the pot. Reduce the heat, cover the pot, and let it simmer for an hour. Remove the cover, add the greens and cook simmer until the green are just done. For using greens such as mustard or collard where you might desire a longer cooking time, reduce the initial simmer accordingly.

If a bunch more people drop in for dinner, you can always throw on a pot of rice. When it's time to serve, scoop rice into the bowls before serving. It will stretch the number of servings considerably.