(Note: I see that I posted my lentil soup recipe before, three years ago.
I’M KEEPING THEM BOTH.
pmbaxter.com/index.php/2020/01/01/lentil-soup/
Key difference: the earlier recipe is scaled toward a smaller batch of soup, using 1/2 pound of lentils. This recipe is for a larger batch using the full pound.)
It’s a family tradition, and it’s delicious. AND it’s easy to make. You can make it too! Here’s how.
(Note that this is going to be about how I cook as it is about making lentil soup, specifically.)
Ingredients: dried lentils, water or stock, onions, garlic, potatoes, carrot, celery, bay leaf, oregano, bacon or ham (optional), soy sauce (optional), Worcestershire sauce (optional), crushed red pepper (optional)
You need to start with a good-sized pan or kettle. Add enough oil to cover the bottom of the plan, put the heat on medium, and add: some onion – at least one large or a couple medium, chopped. Add a potato or two, diced. I leave the skins on. You don’t have to.
When the onion has softened, maybe even taken on a little color, add several cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped or sliced thin. Give it another minute, and then – add your dried lentils. One pound. Add enough liquid to cover them, plus an inch or so. You have choices on liquid. Water is OK. Stock or broth is better. Vegetable stock, chicken stock, ham stock.
With the heat on medium, it should come to a simmer. While it’s doing that. add some celery and carrots. I’d probably start with three stalks of celery, sliced or diced, and a good-sized carrot or two medium carrots, again, sliced or diced. Larger slices or dices will be more likely to wind up with identifiable chunks in the finished soup. Smaller pieces will be more likely to blend in. Your preference here!
Now we season things a little bit! And again, you get to make choices. When I want a little salt in a recipe like this, I frequently use a little soy sauce, which gives you sodium and bonus umami. The trick here is to use it fairly sparingly. Like the garlic, I don’t want this to taste distinctly of garlic (or soy). It’s just one in the chorus of flavors. If you don’t use soy sauce, add salt to taste. Again, sparingly – flavors tend to intensify as this simmers. If you’re using premade stock rather than your own homemade stock, be even more careful with salt.
Several other performers in the chorus – a splash of Worcestershire sauce, a bay leaf or two depending on their size, and a sprinkle of oregano. Oh, and I add a little crushed red pepper.
One last thing you can add, or omit, is meat. I like ham (chopped, again as you like. Want big chunks? Fine. Smaller cubes more evenly distributed is good also.) Or bacon. The good thing about bacon is you can start by frying the bacon, remove the bacon (crumble and reserve it to be added along with the carrots and celery), and use the rendered fat to brown the onion and potatoes.
That’s it! Let it simmer away.At this point, you can probably cover the pan and reduce the heat to low. Give the soup an occasional stir. Keep watch; don’t let it burn in the pan, and keep adding liquid as needed. If you started with stock, you don’t necessarily need to add more stock. Water is fine.
When the lentils are cooked and the vegetables are done to your degree of satisfaction, it’s done! Serve and eat!
A couple more variations on the process: some chopped mushrooms are good in this, if you like mushrooms. I’ve added a tomato when I had a sad and lonely tomato just sitting around with nothing better to do. Some curry to taste can also be good. When you serve it, whether you added curry or not, a swirl of plain yogurt is tasty too.
This same basic recipe serves to make split pea soup as well, substituting dried split peas for the lentils. It could be bean soup if you substitute canned and drained beans (or soaked, cooked and drained dried beans.)
One last note. this makes a fair amount of soup. It does freeze well, it reheats well, and if you want, just cut the recipe in half. Make it with a half pound of dried lentils.
I hope you try making this, and I hope you enjoy it!