Hope for healing is a website with some great recipes, I thought I would share this one with you...It's spring and it's cold. I guess it's time for another pot of soup. It is a touch of comfort, but I also think the soup has a way of getting some simple nutrients into my body without a lot of trouble. I am tempted to just eat something that would be comforting in another way with maybe more sugars, carbs or simplicity, but then I think about what my body really wants...vegetables and protein.
Tomato Lentil Soup
2 TB of olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup of chopped celery
1 cup of chopped carrots
1/2 cup or so of chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup or so of chopped fresh greens (optional)
1 TB of Italian seasoning blend of herbs
2 ts. of paprika
2 ts. of ground cumin
1/2 ts. of sea salt
1/2 ts. of black pepper
8 cups of broth/stock
2 cups of water (optional: if you need to thin it out in the end)
1 cup of red lentils
1 cup of yellow mung dahl lentils (or more red if you don't have these on hand)
28 ounces of organic crushed tomatoes
Optional add in's:
organic chicken or turkey sausage
fresh lemon and herbs for serving
pinch of cayenne or red pepper flakes for a kick
Saute the onion, veggies and garlic in the olive oil until a tad soft, then add the stock/water, spices and lentils. Lastly, add the tomatoes and fresh herbs and greens. Cook on high for 20 minutes and then on low covered with lid for another 15-20 minutes. You will know this soup is done and ready to eat when the lentils are soft and broken down into the broth. This may turn into a mushy stew the next day, but just add a touch more stock and it will be soup again. This makes a nice pot of soup, to feed 8-12 people, so you may want to freeze, share or cut the recipe in half. Add a nice biscuit, cornbread or green salad and you have a meal, of course, this is a meal by itself as well.
