One-Pot, Vegan, Completely Delicious Lentil Soup
This is a recipe from my vegan cousin Christine — everyone in our family has been making it for years. A few notes: Make it ahead! This is a soup that tastes so much better on day 2 and beyond than day 1. Some people find 1/2 cup vinegar to be too much, but I find it to be just right. I use white balsamic vinegar (Colavita is my favorite). If you are using a different vinegar — white balsamic is on the sweet side — you may want to start with 1/4 cup vinegar and add more to taste by the tablespoon at the end. Crushed tomatoes: I love the Pomi brand, which has a nice, pure flavor, but use any crushed tomatoes you can find, preferably ones without any additional seasonings. On day two, much of the liquid will have been absorbed by the lentils and veggies. Just add a little more water to the pot as you reheat and adjust the seasoning as necessary — a pinch more salt usually does the trick. This recipe doubles well. Recently, when I made a double batch, I added 2 quarts of diced onions, 1 quart of diced carrots, 1 quart of diced celery, and a whole head of minced garlic, which I puréed in the food processor for ease. I use a tablespoon of kosher salt (Diamond Crystal brand).
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups French green lentils
- 12 oz crushed tomatoes — I like Pomi brand finely chopped tomatoes (1 1/2 cups), see notes above
- 2 large onions, chopped (about a quart of diced onions)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar, see notes above
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped, or if you are feeling lazy, a few whole springs
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced (1 to 2 cups)
- 3 celery stalks, diced (1 to 2 cups)
- crushed red pepper flakes to taste
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- 1
Throw all ingredients together in a pot.
- 2
Add 1½ qts. plus one cup of water (seven cups total) and bring to a boil.
- 3
Simmer for one hour uncovered.
- 4
Taste, adjust with more salt — I always add another teaspoon of kosher salt, sometimes more.
- 5
Extract the bay leaf and thyme sprigs, if using, and discard.
- 6
Serve with bread and lots of fresh cracked pepper.
Cook it from the original
This recipe comes from alexandracooks.com. Their page has the author’s own photos, notes and tips — the best place to cook it from.
Open the recipe on alexandracooks.com