A Warm Cure

A couple days ago,  I made lentil soup. I made up a HUGE  batch. I decided to give some to my aunt who has been sick for 10 days. This soup freezes well so, she can have it all winter. The recipe below is doubled because I found that there was not enough in the original recipe. If you have tupperware, this is the time to use it. If, you don't than any plastic bag will do (make sure that they are the "freezer" kind not the "sandwich" or "snack"). So, there is no reason not to make extra.  This recipe does not call for a ham hock, so you do not need to cook up some ham to make this. This only takes up to 45 minutes so, you can make up a batch really fast. I adapted this recipe from Dinner:A Love Story by Jenny Rosenstrach. She also has her own blog and it is http://www.dinneralovestory.com/. All of the recipes are super easy and do not take that much time. This recipe calls for beluga lentils but french lentils will also do ( I could only find french lentils at the store and t worked just find). Also there is only 3 vegetables in this recipe so there is not a lot of chopping involved.  This recipe called for anchovies and I do not like any thing fish related, so I omitted them. The recipe also did not say to "soup-wand" but, I like my soups "soup-wanded", so I did "soup-wand" it. If you do have a "soup-wand", I recommend that you use it. A "soup-wand" is also known as an immersion blender.  It really blends the soup all together, rather than tasting the individual ingredients. The recipe is to follow. Another add-in that might taste good with this is crumbled sausage.  

Beluga Lentil Soup (adapted from Jenny Rosenstrach) 
Serves 8

• 1 large onion
• 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped

This was how big my carrot was so...

• 2 stalks celery, chopped

Look at all my vegetables

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups beluga lentils (or french, those work too!)
• 8 cups vegetable broth

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute the onion, carrot, and celery in 2 tablespoons of the oil until slightly softened. Add the salt and pepper. Add the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds.

End of step 1... onto step 2

2. Add the lentils and stir them until they look like shiny beautiful caviar and are coated in oil. Add the broth, bring to a boil, and then lower the heat to a simmer. Keep a eye on the lentils, making sure you always have enough liquid in the pot. You want them to be covered by about an inch of liquid. Add more stock or water as necessary.

 End of step 2... onto step 3

3. Test for doneness starting at 20 minutes. Lentils should be hold their shape but still be tender. Cook them for another 5-10 minutes if necessary. Spoon the soup into bowls and top each bowl with a generous drizzle of oil.

The almost finished product, I forgot to take a picture after I "soup-wanded" it!