Lentil Soup with a Dash of Love

Whenever I hear someone mention lentil soup, I think of two things- the worst soup I've ever had, and the best soup I've ever had.  One of the first times I had it, I swear it was cooked in water with salt and pepper.  It had NO love in it whatsoever.  The first time I remember really remember LOVING it was this older Greek woman's soup that was garnished with red peppers and had a faint taste of red vinegar.  I've tried my damnedest to make her recipe, and I've just never been able to figure out what she did to make it so amazing.

This go around, I asked my good friend, Dawn, to give me some tips on how she makes her soup so yummy.  Her family makes "lucky lentil soup" that is made for the first day of the New Year, and if I'm guessing correctly, whomever receives the bay leaf is to have good luck that year.  (I grew up with that same tradition, except the bay leaves were in spaghetti sauce..but that's a post for another day.)

Anyway, Dawn recommended some pureed celery and carrots (Can you say yum?  And sneaking in veggies!  I'm in!)  She also recommended sun-dried tomatoes, which sounds super awesome, but I didn't have any on hand, so I just had to improvise with a fresh tomato.

Here's my twist on lentil soup..

Ingredients:

• (1/2 lb) Dried lentils
•  (3) Carrots
• (1) Celery stalk
• (1) Medium Tomato
• (2) Boullion cubes (I used vegetable, but I'm sure chicken or beef would be good too)
• (4) Cups water
• (2) Tb Crushed garlic
• (1) Tb Onion powder
• (1) Bay leaf
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

• Measure four cups of water and pour it into a medium soup pot.
• Chop the celery and carrots.  (I used the celery leaves as well.) 
• Add the celery and carrots to the boiling water.
• Boil for ten minutes.
• While the veggies are boiling, slice up the tomato.
• Sprinkle some olive oil in a medium-high skillet.  Salt and pepper both sides of the tomato and place each slice in the skillet.  Lower the heat to medium heat.  Cook for two or three minutes per side.
• DO NOT DISCARD THE VEGETABLE WATER.
• Use a slotted spoon to take out the vegetables.
• Put the carrots, tomato and celery in a food processor or blender and puree.
• Rinse the lentils.
• Pour the rinsed lentils into the vegetable water.
• Add the pureed vegetables.
• Add the crushed garlic and onion powder (if you want to use fresh onions, just sautee them and puree them.  I used onion powder because I didn't have onions on hand.)
• Add the boullion cubes.
• Bring to a boil.  Once you have brought the soup to a boil, lower it to a simmer and place a lid on the pot.
• Cook for 20 minutes.  (This is one of those dishes that tastes better the longer you cook it.  I let mine simmer on low heat after the twenty minutes were up for an extra hour, for a total time of 80 minutes.  The rule of thumb with sauces and soups (and food in general, really) is that if you put a little love in it, it'll taste like it.  So if you have the time, definitely take it.  If not, it'll still be a pretty darn delicious soup!

Oh, and as you can see from this picture, Laela really loved this soup!!

I know that it seems like there are a lot of steps in this dish, and it may not be the simplest recipe I've posted...but it really isn't too difficult, and it's definately worth the effort!

*This soup will freeze for 6 months in a normal home freezer, and 1 year in a deep freeze.