It’s Sunday afternoon and there’s a pot of simmering lentil soup on the stove. It’s been a rainy weekend in San Francisco, and a dinner of healthy, hearty lentil soup to usher in a new week sounds just fine. This soup is of the “chop, chunk, toss, stir and simmer” variety; in other words: pretty simple and very satisfying.

Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 6 cups veggie broth (I use Better Than Bouillon concentrate)
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 bunch kale, chopped
• 4 medium-sized red potatoes, diced
• 4 cups brown lentils
• Juice from 1 lemon

Instructions:

1. Chop onions.
2. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot (with a tight-fitting lid) on medium-high.
3. Sauté onions until translucent, about 5 minutes.
4. Chop carrots and celery (1 inch pieces) and garlic. Add to onions and sauté for 5 minutes.
5. Add salt & pepper and dried herbs (parsley, thyme, and bay leaves). Stir.
6. Add entire contents of canned tomatoes. Stir.
7. Add all other liquid and bring to simmer.
8. Chop kale. Add to pot and stir.
9. Dice potatoes. Add to pot and stir.
10. Add lentils. Stir and return to simmer.
11. Simmer for about 2 hours, or until lentils are soft.
12. Finish with lemon juice and more salt and pepper to taste.
13. Enjoy!