Interesting is that many of the soups and dishes we prepare begin with a basic onion-carrot-celery-garlic-salt-and-pepper base. From there lots of things can develop, and in this case it's...
Lentil Soup from Diana's kitchen
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Sprinkle of kosher salt
1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground coriander
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
2 quarts chicken or vegetable broth (we use a local free range chicken stock)
1 pound well-rinsed and drained lentils
2 cups peeled and chopped tomatoes (they are ready to go from the freezer)
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or more, to taste)
2 Tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
** Kale (an optional event)
Place the olive oil into a large Dutch oven, heat, and add onion, carrot, celery, ground pepper, just a sprinkle of salt, and the garlic. Cook on low until the onions are translucent (5-6 minutes). Add coriander, cumin, cayenne, and stir. Add broth, lentils, and tomatoes.
Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to low heat, cover and simmer with the lid slightly tilted until the lentils are tender, approximately 40 minutes. We like this soup as is... a nice coarseness to it, but you may want to puree a portion of it to suit a consistency you most enjoy.
When it is done, add the teaspoon of salt, stir in the vinegar, and taste for any adjustments.
** I happened to have a little kale left over from an Italian sausage and potato soup I made last week, and since I didn't want it to go bad, I chopped it up and tossed it in the soup for just a couple minutes.Any way you prefer, serve with a slice of a favorite coarse bread (or not), a glass of wine (or not), and for us it is a perfect meal.
