Hot Lentil Soup on a cool day

So I’ve been a bit lazy and not updated at all, and I’ve even slowed down on my cooking this semester due to my schedule.

One of the things that I seem to make every couple of weeks is Alton Brown’s Lentil Soup.  The above photo is from dinner a few months ago.  I made fresh pita bread and a salad to accompany the dinner.

Alton Brown is a culinary genius, but what he’s great at isn’t creating new recipes, but rather following them and presenting them to the average cook in an easy peasy way.  He’s great for beginners to cooking, as well as the seasoned cook.

The recipe can be found here

Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 cup finely chopped onion (1 medium onion)
* 1/2 cup finely chopped carrot (1/2 a normal sized carrot)
* 1/2 cup finely chopped celery (2 stalks of celery)
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 1 pound lentils, picked and rinsed
* 1 cup peeled and chopped tomatoes (or one 14 ounce can)
* 8 cups chicken or vegetable broth (8 cups water + 6 tsp of dry stock)
* 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Directions

Place the olive oil into a large pot and set over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion, carrot, celery and salt and sweat until the onions are translucent, approximately 6 to 7 minutes. Add the lentils, tomatoes, broth, coriander, cumin and salt and stir to combine. Increase the heat to high and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook at a low simmer until the lentils are tender, approximately 35 to 40 minutes.  Stir occasionally so that the lentils don’t stick to the bottom of the pot.  Using a stick blender, puree to your preferred consistency.  The soup is fine without being pureed, but I think it tastes a bit better blended.