French Lentil Soup is excerpted from "Home Cooking Comfort: More Neighborly Advice & Recipes From the Farm Kitchen of a Midwestern Food Journalist." © 2022 Jennifer Rude Klett.
French Lentil Soup (makes 6 to 8 bowls)
French Lentil Soup is one of my old faithful soup recipes that’s perfect for a weekday dinner anytime of the year. Like most homemade soups, this gets better with each reheat. Of course, any type of lentil can be used but the smaller French lentils that stay a tad firmer provide a wonderful mouth feel. This soup can easily be made ahead of time and stashed in the fridge. I often run low on energy just before dinner, so I will sometimes prepare it around 3:00 or so then let it sit on the stovetop with the burner off while I read the newspaper or put my feet up for a while. It will still be plenty warm for dinner. Pair a big bowl of this soup with a simple grilled Swiss cheese sandwich on sourdough and you are all set.
olive oil to coat a soup pan
2 large carrots, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 small wedge of onion (or 1 shallot), diced
1 clove garlic, minced
8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup dry French lentils (or any lentil)
3 tablespoons brown rice, uncooked
1 bay leaf
dried thyme, to taste (about ½ teaspoon)
salt, pepper to taste
½ teaspoon cumin
handful of spinach, chopped
parsley, chopped, to taste
Heat carrots, celery, onion for a few minutes over medium heat in large soup pot with small amount of olive oil. Add garlic until it blooms, do not brown the garlic. Add broth, lentils, rice, bay leaf, thyme, salt, pepper, cumin. Cover and bring to a boil, simmer 40 minutes. Stir in chopped spinach and parsley, simmer 5 minutes.