Recipes

Warm Up with Delicious Mediterranean Lentil Soup

elliebleu

lentil-soup

Lentil soup is one of those winter staples across the Mediterranean. And for a good reason. It’s inexpensive, flavorful, easy to throw together, and you can use leftover produce to make it.

For my version, I used sprouted lentils found in the natural section of grocery stores. The sprouted version cooks quickly and is known to be easier to digest than regular lentils. This soup is a wonderful way to introduce pulses into your diet. Add some freshly baked bread, and it turns into a hearty meal.

 Mediterranean Lentil Soup

Yield: 4 servings             Prep Time: 10 minutes           Cook time: 30 minutes


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups brown-green lentils
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 sweet onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 large celery stalk, diced
3 garlic cloves (or 2 large), diced
1 tbsp. tomato puree
1 can 14.5 oz. petite diced tomatoes in tomato juice
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
4 cups hot water
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Serve with:
fresh herbs, cleaned and chopped
fresh kale or spinach, cleaned and chopped
Lemon wedges

Directions:

  1. Rinse the lentils thoroughly, drain them and put them in a large pot with cold water to cover. Bring the water to a boil and boil for 3-4 min. Strain, discarding the liquid, and set the lentils aside.
  2. Wipe the pot clean and add the extra virgin olive oil. Sauté the diced onion until translucent. Stir in the diced garlic, then, as soon as it becomes aromatic, return the lentils to the pot. Add the carrot, celery, tomato puree, diced tomatoes, and dried oregano to the pot. Stir in the hot water and a little ground pepper to taste.
  3. Bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat, cover the pan, and cook gently for 20-30 min. The lentils should be soft but not mushy.
  4. Add a little salt, fresh herbs, chopped spinach or kale just before serving.
  5. Offer salt and lemon wedges at the serving table.

* You can also serve the soup with rustic bread, an assortment of olives, and feta or almond cheese.

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Published by elliebleu

I'm the writer, recipe developer, creative director and food photographer for elliebleu.com.

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