Lentil Soup
Italians eat lentils for New Year’s as they are supposed to be good luck. This easy recipe makes enough that you can freeze the leftovers and save them for another day. I have tried many recipes but this is my absolute favorite!
If you have never used an immersion blender – they are fantastic. I use mine for making soup and pasta sauce. We even purchased one in Italy so it already has the correct electric plug; I use it that much!
Lentil Soup: Easy & Delicious!
Course: Appetizer, Main CourseCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy10
servings30
minutes1
hourYou could soak the lentils just for several hours but I like to do them overnight.
Ingredients
FOR THE LENTILS
2 cups dried lentils rinsed (1lb. bag)
6 cups water
1-quart chicken broth
1 smoked ham shank cut into pieces or several slices of pancetta or bacon cooked and cut into pieces
3 cloves garlic chopped
4 stalks of celery leafy tops too if have, cut into small pieces
3 carrots peeled and shredded
1 onion chopped
1/2 teaspoon thyme
3 dried bay leaves
TOMATO SAUCE PART
(1) 28oz. can Italian plum tomatoes chopped well
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Put lentils in a large bowl, cover with water, and soak for several hours or overnight; drain and rinse. Discard any that are floating.
- Saute celery, carrots, onion, and garlic in a little olive oil until soft.
- Add the rest of the ingredients for the “Lentil part” of the soup. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes; stirring a few times during the cooking.
- While lentils are cooking, prepare the “Tomato sauce” part of the recipe. In a medium-sized saucepan, heat oil, and garlic, and then stir in tomatoes and season. Simmer uncovered, 15-20 minutes.
- Remove all the bay leaves and discard.
- Transfer half of the lentils to a food processor or use an immersion blender and puree until smooth. Return to the other portion. This way the soup has some texture but is not all chunky. Sometimes I puree a little bit more than half the amount.
- Add tomato sauce to the lentil batch and cook another 15 minutes.
- Serve with a generous sprinkle of Parmesan and a drizzle of good olive oil if you wish.
Notes
- An immersion blender make this so easy to blend.
I love the looks of your lentil soup recipe and can’t wait to make it. However, I have one question. I have read that a certain kind of lentil maintains its shape better than the others (ones that might get “mushy” and lose their shape. I don’t remember which ones they are. So what kind do you recommend for this recipe?
Thank you, Shari Klarich
I’m sorry to say Shari, I never knew there were different ones that reacted differently. I just get a bag of the green ones and soak them overnight. With this recipe, I take half out and blend everything together to create a thicker soup. In fact… I just made a batch yesterday!