Winter is here in full force. Freezing weather, snow storms, icicles, and chilly nights by the fire are all things we have to look forward to. Nothing beats a hot bowl of savory soup on a cold winter’s night. This red lentil soup recipe (featured in our Winter 2011/2012 issue) from Terry Walters is exactly what you have been looking for.
Terry Walters
http://terrywalters.net
Red Lentil Soup Recipe
Summary: A delicious and hearty meal that takes less than 1 hour to cook. Perfect for winter.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups dried red lentils
- 3 cups water
- Thumb-sized piece of kombu
- 2 TB. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 celery stalks, diced
- 2 TB. mirin
- 1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
- 1 turnip, peeled & diced
- 1 1/2 cups cooked great northern beans
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- Rinse and drain lentils. Place in pot with water and kombu and bring to a boil. Skim and discard foam. Reduce heat to simmer, partially cover, and cook until lentils are soft (about 20 minutes).
- Remove from heat and set aside.
- In soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, saute onion, garlic, and celery in oil until soft (4-6 minutes).
- Add mirin, tomatoes, turnips, and beans. Stir to combine ingredients.
- Remove and discard kombu from lentils, and add lentils to soup pot. Add stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simme, covered, for 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and remove from heat.
- Stir in 1/3 cup of chopped parsley, and serve topped with the remaining parsley as garnish.
Variations
You can substitute yellow split peas for the lentils.
