This warm and comforting soup is made with carrots, celery, onion, garlic, tomatoes, lentils and spices. This soup makes enough for a crowd, but the recipe can easily be cut in half — any leftovers also keep very well.
Chef's notes
For some reason this soup tastes every better a few days later — the lentils tend to break down a bit and the flavours really come together nicely. This soup also freezes quite well, so don't be afraid to make the whole batch.
Steps
1
Preparing Your Mise & Starting the Soup
Ingredients
2 onions, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
4 carrots, diced
sea salt, to taste
4 cloves garlic, émincé
1 sm can tomato paste (156 ml/5.5 oz)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
3 cups brown or green lentils, rinsed and drained
1 lrg can diced tomatoes (796 ml/26 oz)
2 bay leaves
3 to 5 sprigs fresh thyme
pinch of cinnamon, or to taste
To start, first dice the onions, carrots and celery. The dice can really be as big as you like, but a medium to medium-small dice is nice for this soup.
Next, heat a large pot over medium-low heat and dry-sweat the onions, carrots, celery. Add a good pinch of salt and let cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the vegetables start to soften and become somewhat translucent.
Meanwhile, go ahead and prepare and gather the remaining ingredients.
2
Finishing the Soup
Ingredients
8 to 10 cups stock*
1 tbsp horseradish, optional
sea salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
fresh lemon slices, optional
chile flakes, optional
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, optional
Once the mirepoix has started to soften and become translucent, add the garlic and let sweat for another minute or so. Then add the tomato paste and let cook for another minute or two.
Next, add the cumin and paprika and mix to combine.
Next, add the lentils, diced tomatoes, bay leaves, fresh thyme and a pinch of cinnamon (if using).
Lastly, add the stock. *Note: The amount of stock will depend on how thick you want the final soup to be. If you are looking for a thicker, more stew-like consistency, then only use about 8 or 9 cups. As long as the ingredients are fully covered during cooking, you can always add more stock later, if needed. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and partially cover the pot with a lid.
Let cook for approximately 1 hour, or until the lentils and vegetables are fully cooked through. This may take longer, depending on the type of lentils used and how old they were.
To finish the soup, add the horseradish and taste for seasoning.
Lastly, ladle the soup into warm bowls and garnish with parsley and serve with lemon wedges and chile flakes (if using).
