I've loved lentil soup all of my life - loaded with protein, high in fiber, quick to make, and delicious to boot - what's not to like? I discovered a new angle on lentil soup during our visit to Chile two years ago. We were visiting our daughter who was studying abroad and we arrived in November, when much of Chile was still having cool spring weather. Although it was still cool, outdoor markets with in-season produce were prevalent, and lentil soup was everywhere.
My daughter had warned me before we arrived - Chilean's make lentil soup with sliced hot dogs! Now, Food Snob does not consider hot dogs to be part of a healthy diet, so she approached the lentil soup with a certain amount of trepidation. But then again, we were hungry, we were in the volcano region of Chile, and it had started to snow - we were eager for something to warm us up! We tried the lentil soup, hot dogs and all!
It was delicious, and I learned something new - the smoky flavor of hot dogs does a LOT for lentil soup. So ever since, Food Snob makes her lentil soup with something smoky - whether it is a link of organic smoked chicken sausage or with a link of vegan chorizo. It just takes a little, and it makes all the difference!
Lentil soup can be made relatively quickly - in 45 minutes to an hour - or else Food Snob would not bother to make it. Here are a few tricks to speed up preparation: Start cooking the lentils in water with the sweet potatoes in one pot while you sweat the vegetables in a big stock pot - you can combine them later, and the lentils will be about done! Serve with some good, whole grain bread (or not!) and you will have a wonderful, delicious, winter meal. Here's the recipe . . . .
Red Lentil Soup - serves 8
In a large sauce pan, combine:
1 and 1/2 cups red lentils (find these inexpensively at Vitamin Cottage), picked over and rinsed in a colander with hot water until no foam remains
1 sweet potato, diced
8 cups water
Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Meanwhile, quarter lengthwise and slice in 1/4 inch slices:
1 link (about 3 to 4 ounces) of good quality organic chicken or turkey smoked sausage or vegan chorizo (I used one link of Aidells smoked chicken & apple sausage)
Spray a large stock pot with cooking spray, add about 1 teaspoon olive oil, and heat over medium heat. Add the quartered sausage slices and allow the sausage to brown gently. While browning, dice evenly:
1 medium onion
4 stalks celery
5 carrots
1 green, red, yellow, or orange pepper
Add to the stock pot and "sweat" the vegetables for about 10 minutes until the vegetables soften. (See Food Snob's blog dated January 5, 2012 to learn how to "sweat" vegetables.) Add to the vegetables:
3 - 4 cloves minced garlic
Stir the mixture and allow to cook for about a minute. Add the cooked lentil and sweet potato mixture to the vegetables in the stock pot and add:
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon paprika
2 bay leaves
kosher salt (about 1 teaspoon)
fresh ground pepper
1 small handful cilantro leaves
1 Tablespoon tomato paste (optional)
Allow to simmer until vegetables are tender and flavors meld - about 15 minutes. If you have time to cook the soup longer, it will be even better. Taste for seasoning. Use a hand potato masher to mash the vegetables in the soup into smaller pieces - this gives the soup better texture than using an immersion blender. Before serving add:
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Don't leave the vinegar out! You won't believe the difference the acid makes to the soup's flavor! Serve and enjoy!
