Last week Earthfare, had a 20% off coupon for all bulk items, so I used this opportunity to buy a bunch of stuff I’ve never bought before. Fun fun! One of these was red lentils, which I planned to use in a soup. I’ve been on a soup kick lately. It’s just so easy to make and then separate into individual containers for lunch. Plus my office is super cold all year long, so it’s never too warm for soup, no matter what the season.
So red lentil soup was born, with a bit of inspiration from 101 Cookbooks, my go-to for inspiration. Being true to my cooking style, all of these ingredients are guestimates seeing how I don’t typically measure when I’m making stuff up and not baking.
1 cup dried red lentils
6 cups stock (I used leftovers which include 2 cups veggie and 4 cups beef)
1 package frozen vegetables (mine included corn, carrots, green beans, and peas)
1/2 mas grande white onion chopped
1 whole shallot chopped finely
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1 tbsp. finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1 tbsp. olive oil
Saute onion and shallot in olive oil until softened and beginning to brown. Meanwhile bring stock to a simmer. Once onion and shallot are done, transfer to pot of stock. Add the rest of the ingredients: lentils, veggies, herbs and seasonings. Allow to simmer until rice and lentils are soft and soup has reached it’s desired consistency. This took about 20-30 minutes for mine although I wasn’t timing it really.
I use the term “soup” loosely, because my soups always turn out super thick, more like a “stoup” as Rachel Ray would say. I love them super thick. I can eat most of my soups by scooping them up with a cracker because they are so wonderfully thick.
Eaten here in a orange plastic bowl, circa 1970 something from my grandmother’s house. I borrowed this bowl back in college from my grandmother who would probably take a hit out on me if knew I had it. She’s very protective of her plastic ware, which in the South we call “Tupperware”, no matter the brand. At least, I think that’s a southern thing…kind of like how some people here call every carbonated drink “Coke” regardless of the actual brand or type of soda. 🙂
I topped it with a large dollop of plain yogurt and accompanied it with a herb salad mixed topped with avocado and a orange-lemon vinaigrette I made a week or so ago. It’s basically equal parts orange juice and lemon juice (~1/8 cup), 1 tsp olive oil, and 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, which gives it a pretty peach colored hue. Also eaten were several Mary’s Gone Crackers, which I tried out for the first time this week and really like. I bought the original flavor and their very crispy and nutty.
This soup is so yummy. I have taken it to work for lunch for the past several days and always get questions about what I’m heating up in the microwave and comments that it smells delicious.