It’s still cold and rainy here in Santa Cruz. Soups seem to hit the spot on these cold evenings. Here’s a recipe for Lentil Tomato Soup, lentils simmered with healthy vegetables and mushrooms. It has a subtle tangy flavor.
Serves 6–8
Ingredients
- 1 pound brown lentils, about 2 cups
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 carrots
- 5 stalks celery
- 1 small bunch kale
- 4 large chard leaves
- ¼ head savoy cabbage
- 4 small tomatoes
- 8-10 brown mushrooms
- 5 small potatoes, red, purple or yukon gold
- ½ cup tomato paste or 3 tablespoons concentrated tomato paste (in a tube)
- 64 ounces vegetable stock
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons Braggs Liquid Aminos – optional
- ½ to 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper, preferably fresh ground
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon tarragon
- ½ teaspon dill
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
Here is the concentrated tomato paste and Braggs Liquid Aminos
Directions
- Chop the onion and mince the garlic, set aside. Dice the carrots and celery, keeping them separate from the onions. Chops the potatoes, keep separate. Stem the kale and chop small. Chop the chard, separating the stems from the leaves. Chop the cabbage. Slice the mushrooms.
- In a large soup pot, add the olive oil and turn heat to medium high. After one minute, add the onion and garlic, stirring. Cook about 4 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, chard stems and tomatoes and continue to cook on medium to medium high heat. Stir occasionally and don’t let it stick or brown. If it starts to stick, add a little of the liquid vegetable stock. Cook about 5 minutes.
- Add the lentils, ½ the vegetable stock, the spices, Braggs Liquid, the wine and tomato paste, stir well. Bring to a boil, adding more stock as the lentils begin to soak up the liquid.
- Now lower the heat to low, cover the pot and cook about 30 minutes, adding the rest of the broth as needed. There should be plenty of liquid in the pot, not letting the lentils get dry. Continue to stir to prevent sticking in the bottom of the pot.
- Now add the cabbage, kale and chard leaves. Cook until the lentils are just tender, about 10 to 15 minutes more. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve.
