I had a strong hankering for Lentil Soup. As a matter of fact, I have had this hankering since I had some in Detroit recently.
Winter is soup season, and it is definitely winter here: temp 7°F.
I found a few good recipes and thought I would work through them. So… here is the first.
So, you start with the basics, also called “the holy trinity”, onion, carrot, celery. French mirepoix is the common term. With garlic, as today, it is called the soffritto in Italian. The German is even more appropriate: Suppengrün.
So, a medium onion, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks with the greens, 3 big cloves of garlic and a good slosh of olio nuovo.
Sautee for a while, about 1o, with salt and pepper.
Add a can of diced tomato. Reduce for about 10, stirring.
Measure out a pound of green lentils.
Mix the lentils into the mixture.
Add your broth. One of those big cans and another half. I am using low salt broth. I’ll season to taste.
Sprigs of thyme.
Time to reduce it! I suppose I’ll simmer it for about an hour.
Later, I’ll add some pasta.
It’s soup season!
UPDATE
I will use some of the soup itself to thicken it up. There are various ways to thicken liquids, such as liasons or a roux or starches or bread. Another way, though it can separate, is to take a little of the veg and broth and puree it and rejoin it. The fibers act as a kind of “thickener”.
After I added the pureed veg, I tossed in a cup of elbow macaroni, not just the regular stuff, but a “veggie” version, hopefully more flavorful and interesting to see.
More later.
UPDATE:
Finished with a sprinkling of grated Parmigiano and a drizzle of nuovo olive oil.
Yum.
