Monday, December 5, 2011

Brown Lentil Soup

Before I share this recipe, I’d like to preface first that I am letting you guys in on a nice little family recipe. For as long as I can remember, my dad has been making us red & brown lentil soup. Rona blogged about the red lentil here, but because the tastes are so different, I figured I’d also share brown lentil soup with you all. I feel like I’m sharing a piece of my childhood, so take good care of it!


Reasons I like this soup. 1) It’s filling because lentils are a great source of protein. In fact, according to my wiki app that I have pulled up right now, lentils have the third-highest level of protein, by weight, of any plant-based food. Thank you wiki. 2) It’s delicious. That’s good enough for me.

Ingredients

3 cubes Knorr beef bouillon
2 large carrots, diced
3 large sticks celery, diced
1 large yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups uncooked brown lentil, rinsed
1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes
1 tsp kosher salt
Pepper to taste
2 bay leaves
1 tsp cumin
2 large tomatoes, cut into cubes


Procedure

1. Fill a 6-quart pot with water, about 3/4 of the way.

2. Add 3 cubes of beef bouillon and bring to a boil.

3. While waiting for the water to boil, prepare the diced vegetables and heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium-sized pan. Add the carrots, onion, celery, and garlic to the pan and fry until lightly brown.

4. After this is done (or before), open your can of stewed tomatoes and blend in a food processor until smooth. This step is to avoid tomato chunks in the soup.

5. Once the water is boiled and the bouillon cubes are dissolved, pour the stewed tomatoes and lightly fried vegetables into the soup. Add the lentils, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and cumin. Stir well and reduce heat, letting the soup simmer for 1 hour.

6. In the meantime, prepare your potatoes. After an hour, add the potatoes to the soup and cook for another 15 minutes until the potatoes are soft (test with a fork.)


And that's all!

~Alyssa


13 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing this childhood recipe! I know how sentimental family food is- it's just so comforting. I haven't really cooked lentils that much, which is weird because I'm a vegetarian... This looks easy and yummy, I must try it.
    Good luck!

    skinnymoonstick.blogspot.com

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  2. This look delicious. I love soup (especially this time of year!) and Lentil is one of my favorites. I'm going to have to try this.

    Also, thank you for stopping by my blog and for the sweet comment. I great appreciate it. :)

    xo,
    Shannon
    http://shannonhearts.blogspot.com

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  3. I looove lentil soup, one of my favorites. Yours looks delish!

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  4. I bet the cumin really made the soup sing. :) I love lentils and I have been playing with making a lentil soup myself. Your soup looks wonderful and has given me some inspiration. :)

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  5. I love lentils! Your soup recipe looks very much like mine, except for the addition of the cumin. I will try it in mine next time I make it!

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  6. Yum! I've been trying to work more lentils into my dinners; this looks so tasty!
    xo Josie
    www.winksmilestyle.com

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  7. Aaah, I love lentils, one of my favoties. I don't put cumin in mine but I will have to try that. Nice photos too. Have a great day!

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  8. That looks delicious, normally I find soup really boring but I'll have to try this <3
    http://cupcakesandtreacle.blogspot.com/

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  9. hmm.. these looks like fun on a cold day!

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  10. It looks absolutely delicious and perfect for the cold weather. Thx for sharing :)

    PS. Thx for your comment on my blog and I would love to follow each other if you like. Hope to hear from you soon.


    <3 Marina
    Fashion.MakeUp.LifeStyle

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  11. thanks for sharing! i love soup in the winter time, and i woke up to a dusting of snow this morning so i'm sure the cookbooks will be coming out soon. i'll try this for sure, thanks for sharing! <3shelby

    www.makemesparkly.com

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  12. This soup is delicious, I have been eating it for years!

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  13. Awesome! love your blog))
    Follow you! Maybe we can follow each other witn Google Connect and Bloglovin'?

    Have a great day!))

    http://myfiercefashion.blogspot.com

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