Vegetarian Lentil Vegetable Soup

Vegetarian Lentil Vegetable Soup

• 1 pound lentils
• 4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 large onions)
• 4 cups chopped leeks, white part only (2 leeks)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 1/4 cup good olive oil, plus additional for drizzling on top
• 1 tablespoon sea salt or pink Himalayan salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• a few shakes of Goya Adobo
• 3 cups medium-diced celery (8 stalks)
• 3 cups medium-diced carrots (4 to 6 carrots)
• 2 medium potatoes cubed or calabaza if you prefer.
• 3 quarts vegetable stock (such as Kitchen Basics or Pacific in the carton)
• 28 oz Muir Glen organic diced fire roasted tomatoes (if you don’t like chunks of tomatoe in your soup, then use 28 oz Muir Glen organic crushed tomatoes with basil.
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• Freshly shaved Parmesan cheese (if desired)

In a large bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drain.

In a large stockpot on medium heat, saute the onions, leeks, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme, adobo and cumin for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are translucent and very tender. Add the celery, carrots and potatoes or calabaza and saute for 10 more minutes. Add the vegetable stock, tomatoes, and lentils. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, until the lentils are cooked through. Check the seasonings. Add the red wine vinegar and serve.

I’ve been making this recipe for 15 years. It was in my beloved Ina Garten’s cookbook. I love Ina because she really has a way of making simple recipes taste extraordinary. This version has my personal revisions, but she still has this posted on Food Network if you’d like to try the original recipe or watch a video on how to make it. I posted her photo of it. I never include the Parmesan, but if you do, grate it from fresh and try not to leave the leeks out, because they really make this soup stand out.

Enjoy Love Advocates!