Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Tomato and Lentil Soup -A hearty soup for a cold winter night




This hearty vegetarian soup derives a kick from some balsamic vinegar and feta cheese. It takes only about 45 minutes to prepare from cupboard ingredients and will warm (and fill) you up on a night like tonight.

Tomato and Lentil Soup
Adapted from Cooking light

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 tablespoon bottled minced garlic
5 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups dried lentils
2 tablespoons dried dill, divided
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon chile powder
1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and garlic; cook 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender, stirring frequently. Add water, dried lentils, 1 tablespoon dill, bay leaves, chile powder, red epper flakes and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until lentils are tender. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon dill, vinegar, salt, and black pepper; discard bay leaves. Sprinkle with cheese.


Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 cup soup and 2 tablespoons cheese)






1 comment:

Unknown said...

I made this for dinner the other night and it was not only easy but DELICIOUS too! The only things I changed were that I used fresh garlic (3 cloves), went a little light on the dill, and halved the red pepper flakes (I was afraid of too much kick, and with a half teaspoon got a little kick, which was good for me). I was skeptical of how hearty it would be as it was just a water base, but it was delicious, thick, and filling!