Lentil Soup

Lentil Soup hearty and delicious!

Its cold outside and in the winter I really love to have a hot bowl of soup. I love lentils, they are nutritious, loaded with protein, fiber and vitamins, one of natures perfect foods. They are also so easy to make. I usually make the whole package, 2 cups dry lentils and this yields a big pot of soup, for me this is multiple meals and it freezes nicely. I divide into portions, stick them in the freezer. I like to add lots of vegetables, onion, celery, carrot, garlic and parsley.  It is a healthful delicious meal as is, but I really love adding kielbasa to my lentil soup there is something about the smoky sausage that adds so much flavor. You don’t have to, this is optional of course. I’m sure all of you have your go to lentil soup recipe, this is mine. I sometimes add kale or spinach to the pot at the end of cooking time.

Ingredients:

2 cups lentils washed and sorted

1 small onion chopped

1 large stalk celery

1 medium size carrot cleaned peeled and chopped

1/2 cup flat leaf parsley chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

6-8 cups chicken, beef, vegetable stock or water

1/2 lb smoked kielbasa sausage (Optional)

salt and pepper to taste

handfull of Spinach or Kale

Coat the bottom of your pot or dutch oven with olive oil (not too much), heat on medium high and add the onion, garlic, celery and carrot, saute stirring frequently until the vegetables start of soften, add the  parsley.  Heat the stock if you are using stock. Now add the cleaned lentils, give it a stir and add hot stock or hot water. Cover, bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium low. Let cook stirring occasionally for approximately 1 hour or until lentils are softened and cooked through. Watch it carefully, if you think it’s too thick add more water or stock to thin. I threw in some spinach after it was cooked the heat of the soup wilts the spinach. NOTE: If adding Kale you will need to continue cooking for 5 minutes or a little longer. Spinach wilts instantly but Kale is a bit tougher and requires a small amount of cooking time.