Garlic Lentil Soup

Sackville's Note:

This may take a bit of time to make but it is one of my favourite comfort foods, especially on a nippy winter day. From Cooking for Diabetics by Michekke Berriedale-Johnson

• Total Time: 1 hrs 40 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 cup red lentil, rinsed and drained
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 pinch dried marjoram or 1 pinch oregano
• 6 1/4 cups vegetable stock
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Put the lentils, onions, garlic, carrot, oil, bay leaves, marjoram or oregano and stock into a large saucepan.
2. Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove bay leaves and add the red wine vinegar as well as the salt and pepper to taste.
4. You can thin the soup out if you like with a little stock or water before serving.
5. To freeze: Freeze in a rigid container.
6. To reheat: Thaw and heat through.

Reviews

[ratherbeswimmin']

I usually pick one or two Zaar recipes a week to make for my husband and I to take for lunch. This was it for last week. Wow, SG, we both thought your soup was delicious. Not hard to make either. I didn't add any extra stock or water because we like a thick, hearty soup/stew. Just added some salt and pepper but otherwise the seaoning was perfect. This is a wonderful cold weather meal and healthy too. Thanks for sharing it.

[nursraerae_10870211]

I love this recipe! I usually use chicken broth instead of veggie, and dark lentils instead of red (red are hard to find here). Sometimes I add a can of petite diced tomatoes. Today I added diced precooked chicken breasts (had some left over from dinner) and pastina (tiny star shaped pasta), sometimes I add turkey sausage (I cook for severe carnivores). I couldn't find my wine vinegar, so today I added basalmic vinegar. I always cook my onions and carrots with the spices prior to adding the broth. After I tried this recipe the first time I always make a double batch, It's even better the second day.

[Laughing in the Kitchen]

A very simple but tasty lentil soup. From my experience with red lentils, I knew I wouldn't want to cook them for over an hour (too mushy!). So I sauteed the carrots, onion, and garlic first before adding in the other ingredients. I only cooked the soup for about 20 minutes after that. I also only added 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar and that seemed sufficient. Another tablespoon might have overwhelmed it for me, although I think this is a matter of personal preference. The only reason this loses a star is that it seems to be lacking depth. Maybe another spice or two would help? I might experiment next time I make it!