Lentil Soup

Winter is a great time to fuel up with warm soups and stews. It is an efficient way to get a lot of vegetables into a meal. An added bonus is it can be prepared early in the day and reheated if you have late practices or meetings and don’t have time to prep a meal. I often make it and freeze it to bring up to ski weekends for an easy apres meal. Lentils can be yellow, red-orange, green, brown and black. They are a good source of protein, fiber, iron and contain potassium, phosphorus and folate in addition to other vitamins and minerals. Being small they cook relatively quickly. This is a fan favorite in our house and even though my kids don’t like beans they will eat lentils.

Directions

Add olive oil to a large stock pot and coat bottom of pan. Turn heat to medium and add chopped onion, sliced carrots, chopped celery, and potatoes. Stirring frequently to ensure even cooking. Add bay leaves and salt and pepper. We like about 1t salt and 1/2 t white or black pepper. Cook until veggies are soft and translucent about 5-10 min. (Can cover the pot to speed this process up)

If using dry lentils cook according to package directions in a separate pot. When finished add to veggie mixture. For a shortcut use canned or steamed lentils. Stir well and let simmer for 3-5 minutes. Add broth and continue to simmer for 15-20 min. Taste and add salt and/or pepper as needed. Remove bay leaves and serve.

Great with crusty bread and a salad.

Ingredients 9 ingredients - 30 min

• 1 T olive oil

• 2 cups lentils ( I prefer Trader Joes steamed lentils)

• 48-64 oz Vegetable broth or Chicken stock ( use less for a chunkier soup and more for more broth)

• 4-5 carrots sliced

• 4-5 stalks of celery chopped

• 2-3 potatoes peeled or with skins cut into 1”pieces

• 1 onion chopped

• 2-3 bay leaves (for more flavor add 3 large leaves)

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1/2 t corriander