Lentil Soup

A few years ago when I realized I needed to start cooking a bit more, I decided to ask some of my family members that I knew were good cooks for some of their favorite recipes.  My sister-in-law Krista was at the top of the list.  She loves to cook and is always on the lookout for a new recipe.  You will get to meet a few of her recipes as I post on here, but one of the first is her lentil soup. This recipe was passed from her neighbor to her mom onto her.

Now if you are a meat and potatoes kind of person, this might not be for you.  But I like to cook vegetarian (and preferably vegan) at least once a week.  I love using this recipe because it is simple, includes ingredients that you can find anywhere in the world and is great on the wallet!  I don’t think it looks like anything special, but I love the taste.  And the kids love it too, which is surprising for this kind of dish.  Abby (my oldest, age 6) actually said this is what she wants for her birthday dinner this year.

Here is the simplicity of it:

Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp. marjoram leaves
2 tablespoons parsley
1 cup dry lentils, washed
1 lb. can crushed tomatoes
3 cup chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Sauté 3-5 minutes the onion and carrot in oil.
Add thyme and marjoram leaves and sauté 1 minute more or until soft.
Add chicken broth, tomatoes, lentils, parsley and salt/pepper.
Bring to a boil.
Cover and simmer about 45 minutes or until lentils are soft.
Top with parmesan cheese if desired.

It is a super easy recipe and very forgiving too. I often throw in different spices if I don’t have something on hand (sometimes I put in oregano or basil). I also use bullion to make the broth instead of buying it canned. And when we are in Italy, we usually throw some of the wonderful fresh Parmesan cheese they have here on top.

For those of you in the U.S. snowed in with the cold winter weather, this might be a good meal to warm you up after you come back inside. Enjoy!