Lentil Soup
Green lentils give this hearty soup a peppery kick while pureed beans and celery make the soup base nice and thick. Not to mention it is chock full of other healthy veggies like tomatoes, carrots and enoki. Enoki are a type of mushroom that is popular in asian cuisine. If you can’t find them at your local grocery store you can always check the asian supermarkets, or just leave them out. I would not suggest replacing them with regular mushrooms because many other mushrooms get slimy when you add then strait to soup.
Makes: 2 main course or 4 appetizer
Preparation time: 10m
Cooking time: 10m
Total time: 40m
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup dry green lentils
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
- 1 1/2 cups cooked white beans (or 1 15 oz can, drained and rinsed)
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
- 1 carrot (chopped into 2" chunks)
- 1/2 cup enoki (washed and trimmed)
- 1 celery stalk (chopped into 2" chunks)
- 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
Equipment: saucepan, blender
Instructions:
- In a medium sized saucepan bring the lentils and 2 cups of vegetable stock to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes until they are cooked through. You can test them by taking one out and biting into it, if it is still crunchy it is not ready. Once the lentils are soft drain the vegetable stock into a measuring cup and set the lentils aside. You can leave them in the saucepan but make sure to take them off the heat for now.
- Add water to the vegetable stock until you have 1 1/2 cups of liquid then pour the liquid into the blender.
- Add the beans, rosemary, lemon juice and celery to the blender and process until smooth.
- Put the carrot and canned tomatoes into the blender and mix on low to chop up the carrot and tomatoes but not puree them.
- Taste the mixture and add salt to taste.
- Pour the mixture back into the saucepan with the lentils. Add the enoki and bring to a boil stirring frequently.
- Remove from heat and serve while it's warm.