Soup's On!

One thing that's great about chilly weather is sitting down to a nice hot bowl of soup - I made some lentil this weekend and it came out great!  Very simple and good for you too.  Try it!

CLASSIC LENTIL SOUP

from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman

Makes 4 servings.  Time: About 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 cup dried lentils, washed and picked over

1 bay leaf

Several sprigs fresh thyme, or a few pinches dried

1carrot, cut into 1/2 inch dice

1 celery stalk, cut into 1/2 inch dice

6 cups vegetable stock or water (more as needed)

salt & pepper

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Directions

1. Put lentils, bay leaf, thyme, carrot, celery and stock into a deep skillet or medium saucepan.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, put olive oil in small skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and stir, then cook for 1 minute more.  Turn off heat.

3. When lentils are tender, fish out bay leaf and thyme sprigs and stir onion mixture into the soup.  Add more stock if soup it too thick, taste and season if needed.  Serve. 

This was really tasty and you can reheat it for a later meal too!  I didn't have celery so I omitted that, and added more carrots for fun.  Happy cooking!