November 02nd, 2012

Easy Peasy Fall Lentil Soup

Actually, this soup has nothing to do with peas -- "easy peasy" is just an expression I use often these days. I made this accidentally the other day by forgetting to add certain ingredients to my regular lentil soup and it turned out wonderful. We could really taste the flavors of the various ingredients, which is becoming a passion of mine. Most of my cooking life, addicted to sugar and MSG, I over-flavored everything to the point that the whole dish tasted all the same. It was rich, but indistinct. Now that my taste buds have been set free and I have learned to enjoy food -- especially the ingredients straight from the earth, I prefer that my food doesn't have one homogeneous taste but instead bursts into a rainbow of flavors -- I want to taste the onion, the garlic, the different herbs or meats, or tomatoes in a dish. This hearty soup captures just that. 

Ingredients:

1/8 stick organic butter
1/4 c cider vinegar
2-3 c lentils, rinsed
2 stalks chopped celery (if I have celery leaves I use those, too)
1 large onion, chopped or puréed
2 garlic cloves, pressed
4-6 cups chicken or veggie broth
3 carrots, chopped
Pinch ground sage
Sea salt to taste


In a soup pot, melt butter and add onion. Saute until transparent. 
Add carrots, celery, and garlic and continue to saute, about 3-5 minutes. 
Pour in broth and add lentils, vinegar, and sage. Stir. If you are adding celery leaves for flavor, toss in now.
Let cook down until lentils are tender, usually 45-60 minutes. Salt to taste.