Greek Lentil Soup (Faki)

This was my mother's recipes for Faki, which has been one of my favorite soups since I was a child. The natural flavor of the lentils comes through nicely, providing a foundational flavor. The carrots and the celery, vegetables normally used to augment other things, shine in this soup; the sweetness of the carrots and the creaminess of the celery provide a strong middle flavor. The red wine vinegar at the end is absolutely essential. That last addition of an acid top note stretches the flavors and really makes this easy, simply, healthy soup a sure hit on a cold winter's night. Give it a try!

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Yields: 1 big pot of soup

Ingredients

• 1  cup lentils
• 4  carrots
• 4  stalks celery
• 2 (32 ounce) boxes  stock
• 2  tablespoons Greek oregano
•  salt and pepper
•  red wine vinegar

• OPTIONAL ADDITIONS

• 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juice
• 2  cups  spinach leaves
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1⁄2 cups  buglur  wheat
•  cayenne pepper
•  red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Prepare the lentils: Lentils are harvested by machine so often they come with small rocks and irregular looking beans that you do not want in your soup. To check the lentils, pour them in small batches onto a plate so they are able to spread out. Give them a quick look over, remove any foreign objects, and dump them into a bowl. Repeat until you have checked all of your lentils. Then fill the bowl with cold water and rinse your lentils 2-3 time to remove any dust or bean skins. Throw the lentils into a big soup pot.
2. Dice your carrots and celery and throw them into the pot as well.
3. Add 2 boxes of stock to the pot and put the soup on a high heat until it boils and then reduce to medium. Cook for 30-40 minutes or until the lentils are done.
4. To finish the soup, turn the heat to low. Now add the oregano and salt and pepper to taste. The soup is finished with a liberal addition of red wine vinegar, which adds an important top note to the soup. We often add it to the soup and then have the vinegar on the table to allow folks to add additional vinegar to their liking.
5. Optional Ingredients: Over the years I have tried out other Faki recipes. Here are my favorite additions from those experiments. The bulgur bulks up the soup into more of a stew. Despite how successful the soup can be if you add some (or all) of thee additions, I still most often stick with the basic soup. To add the additions, the tomatoes, spinach, garlic, and/or bulgur wheat goes in at the same time as the stock. The additional spices go in during the seasoning phase.