I had to type this up (why I could not use paper and a pen is because I could not find any). This is kind of a mish mash of lentil soup recipes from Ina Garten and Kathleen Dealmans with a little bit of my own added in. It has been nice and cool here for the last week or so (compared to the 105 deg we had last weekend, gotta love global warming) and I really needed some soup. Had some french lentils hanging around in the pantry so I thought this would be perfect.
Lentil soup
2 cups french lentils (they don't get all mushy)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
5 or 6 skinny carrots, diced
4 ribs of celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 quarts chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon wedges
Pour boiling water over lentils and let soak for 15 mins. Drain and set aside.
Heat olive oil in large pot over medium-high. Add onions, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaves, and red pepper flakes. Cook until vegetables are soft. Add stock and lentils. Season with Salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer. Simmer for about 45 mins until lentils are nice and soft. Serve up into bowls, squeeze a wedge of lemon in and some parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
I had meant to add some fresh spinach that I had from our garden basket but got sidetracked by a screaming, teething toddler. Maybe when I have some for lunch tomorrow I will just add some in.

I love the reason you had to type this recipe up.
Posted by: ruthee | May 26, 2008 at 01:39 PM