Lemony lentil soup with greens

 

Is this the perfect time of year for lentil soup, or what? Hot, hearty and layered with distinctive flavors, lentil soup is super good for you and delicious too. We must admit, our favorite lentil soup recipe comes from the old Moosewood Cookbook. We love the drizzling in of red wine vinegar. The vinegar works some sort of magic, makes the soup way more than it is otherwise (which is pretty darn good anyway).

 But we were reviewing Ellie Krieger's new cookbook So Easy, and she came up with a lemony version. We decided to give it a try. We liked it. It was a fresh, citrusy twist on lentils. We still prefer using red wine vinegar instead of lemon juice, but if you're up for something new, give this a try.

+~+We're giving away a hard cover copy of So Easy. Click here to enter. +~+

Rating: 3/4 assed (chopping)

Here's what you need and how you do it

2 teaspoons canola oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

12 cups low-sodium chicken broth, plus more as needed

16 ounces green lentils (we used regular old lentils)

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon salt

6 cups kale leaves, chopped (we used spinach)

3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest, finely grated

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened and translucent, 3 to 5  minutes. Add the carrot, celery and garlic and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are softened, about 5 minutes. Add 12 cups of broth, lentils, basil, thyme and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, add the kale (spinach) and cook until lentils are tender, 30 to 35 minutes, adding more broth if necessary. Stir in the lemon juice and zest, and serve.

Makes six 2-cup servings.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Comments

[Michele]

I made lentil soup this week also. Loved it! I've never made it with lemon juice though. I'll have to give this a try. Thanks for posting it.

[Healthy Foods Blog]

I never heard and never seen or tasted a lentil soup before. But in your image above, I agree with you... it looks delicious and special because of the lemon juice. I think it's perfect to serve during special occasions. I'll bookmark this for future reference. A very big thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.

[sarah]

ooh! looks perfect for a cold wintry day! we've got a recipe for a tomato-y lentil soup, but we'll give this one a go!

[BOSSY]

Yes! Bossy has a soup she is addicted to, a recipe she made up, but anyway, this sentence also contains a comma, Bossy adds a bit of lemon to each serving, and sometimes even some rind. YUM.

[Lentil Soup Recipes]

I love lentil soup, it’s a very healthy choice to make when it comes to soups, adding lemon just makes it even better.