Tomato-Based Lentil Soup

It has been a while since I’ve posted. You see, I have been really under the weather–I think I caught one of these terrible flus. Anyway, I guess I’ll finally find my way to a flu shot as soon as I can. This is going to be a travel-heavy winter, so I need to be sure I can make it all the way.

Anyway, I finally got myself together after being sick for about two weeks.  So, it was time to cook! And, as I’ve made abundantly clear, this is soup season. 

I got into the kitchen, started prepping the veggies, and realized that I did not have enough veggie broth to complete the soup. So, I looked in my pantry, saw a big can of whole Roma tomatoes, and accepted that this was going to have to be a tomato-based soup.  

The result is a tangy, acidic, herby, delicious soup that is great on its own or with a wonderful, heavy, crusty bread. I made this with a combination of fresh and dried herbs. If you don’t have fresh herbs, dried work perfectly well. Remember that dry herbs are more intense than fresh and that you should think of fresh to dry herbs as a 2 to 1 ratio (in other words, 1/2 the measurement of fresh herbs to substitute for dry–1 teaspoon of fresh parsley is 1/2 teaspoon of dry).

Garnish this soup with fresh squeezed lemon, parsley, a little olive oil, and if you’re not vegan, maybe a few feta crumbles.

This is a huge pot, so 1/2 the recipe if you are looking for a smaller batch. This is easily 6-8 servings.

Ingredients:

• 1 T olive oil 
• 2 shallots, small dice
• 1 28 oz can of whole Roma tomatoes, use scissors to cut the tomato into smaller chunks while still in the can
• 2 c water
• 1 c vegetable broth
• 16 oz green lentils, washed and picked
• 2 T fresh Italian parsley, minced
• 1 finger or more fresh thyme, tied in a bundle
• 1 T dried Herbes de Provence
• 3 fresh bay leaves
• 1 t fresh ground pepper
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 russet potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 large carrot, cut into 1-inch cubes
• more water, if needed
• salt, to taste (you may need more than you think)
• 1 t apple cider vinegar
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 1 lemon, cut into slices (optional, for garnish)
• chopped parsley (optional, for garnish)
• crumbled feta (optional, for garnish)
• olive oil (optional, for garnish)

Directions:

Note: this is a 2-step process. I cooked my lentils in an Instant Pot and then transferred it to the stovetop (to control the cooking of the veggies). You can, of course, cook the entire soup on the stovetop or in the Instant Pot or some other kind of pressure cooker.

1. Add the olive oil to an already heating Instant Pot or soup pot on the stove and add the shallot. Sauté the shallots until soft.
2. Add the full contents of the can of tomato (tomato and juice), water, broth, parsley, thyme, Herbes de Provence, bay leaves, ground pepper, and lentils.
3. Pressure cook on high for 20 minutes (or cook on the stove until the lentils are tender).
4. Add the onion, potato, carrot, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, and more water (water only if needed).
5. Cook for another 15 minutes on the stove or 5-10 minutes in the pressure cooker. I really recommend the stove, if you want your carrot and onion to have some chew. Cook until the potato is soft.
6. Garnish and serve.