The Easiest Fall Red Lentil Vegetable Soup
The easiest and most nutrition packed recipes I can make from the garden usually always are part of a soup, stew, or sandwich because I can always pack so many vegetables into one meal.
This soup has so many different vegetables such as red lentils which are packed with protein, but so many other vegetables. This soup encompasses the likes of carrots, potatoes, yellow tomatoes, fresh beans, italian bell peppers, onions, ginger, garlic, basil, and dried chiles for a little kick. Because many of these vegetables are from my garden, they are still packed with so much nutrition because of the freshness after being hand picked.
The number one rule about starting a good soup is choosing the right vegetables. No matter what type of veggies you choose you cannot go wrong because usually most veggies together create a harmonious and balanced flavor.
The Soup Base
This soup starts off with a simple base using tomatoes and vegetable stock.
In a medium sized pot, first sauté the cut tomatoes of any kind.
I used sweet yellow pear tomatoes from my garden, but any other tomato or tomato paste will do.
(If using tomato paste, use about 2 tsp).
Once the tomatoes have released a little liquid and condensed slightly, add in your onions and dried chile.
Sauté for about 3 minutes and add in 1 cup of vegetable stock. This will be the base of the soup. Let simmer.
The Vegetables
While the base of the soup is simmering, its time to start on the vegetables that are going in the soup.
In a separate stock pot, sauté the carrots, potatoes, yellow beans, and peppers.
I do think a red bell pepper would have been great in this recipe, so opt in for one if you like!
I also used yellow cherokee wax beans however, a great alternative is any type of string green bean.
Fry for about 10 minutes on medium.
Note: I strictly use olive oil for all frying because of its nutrient profile, you could also use coconut oil, or butter (yummy!), but try to stay away from any seed oils that will cause inflammation in the body and negate the nutrient profile already in the soup.
The Red Lentils
Now that the base of the soup has been created, and the vegetables are sauteing, go ahead and add your rinsed red lentils into the base of the soup.
Allow to boil with the base of the soup, and add in your fresh basil for about 7 minutes while the veggies are still sauteeing.
Usually, organic red lentils for me take about 20 minutes to boil and cook however, could take upwards of 30 minutes.
With that being said, use your best judgement on when to combine the sauteed vegetables and soup base/red lentils into the stock pot.
I know this sounds a bit confusing, but the reason why we saute the vegetables in a seperate pot is to add a nice flavor and char to the veggies.
The Combination
Now that the lentils have been boiling with the base for about 7 minutes, it should look somewhat like this.
Go ahead and take everything in this pot and pour into the stock pot with the veggies. Add 1 cup of water.
Add in your spices:
Garlic, Ginger, Thyme, Rosemary, Salt, and Pepper
Let simmer for the remaining 20 minutes.
These spices will add a nice aromatic flavor to the soup without being too overpowering.
Time to Eat!
After everything has simmered for about 20 minutes, everything in the soup should be tender and ready to serve. Enjoy this soup with a warm bagette or by itself is just perfect.
Ingredients
for two to four servings
2 cups tomatoes, split in half, or cubed
2 cups potatoes, cubed
1 cup red lentils
1 cup vegetable stock
1 cup water
1 cup carrots, chopped
3/4 cup peppers, chopped
3/4 cup green beans, chopped
1/2 cup onion
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp Chopped fresh basil (you can use dried, if dried, 1 tsp)
1 tsp chopped ginger
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary
1 tsp salt (add more if needed)
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 dried pasilla pepper (can omit for a dash of chili powder)
Follow the instructions throughout the page.
Have fun and stay healthy.
Xoxo Najet
