Lentil Blend Soup

Intro

One of my favorite types of soup to make is with lentils. Lentil soups are hearty, healthy and tasty. This lentil soup is made with other vegetables including barley, carrots and tomatoes. Each vegetable adds its own layer of flavor and texture to the soup. Barley adds smoothness and ‘al dente’ texture, carrot adds softness and sweetness, and tomatoes add tanginess. Of course there are many more ingredients included in this soup, which are listed below. This soup is very easy to make and takes less then 30 minutes. It is full of vitamins and minerals and is very healthy.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 to 2.5 L of water

• 1 cup of lentil mix (or you can use any lentils you have)

• 2 tablespoons of barley

• 1 medium carrot

• 1 to 2 cloves of garlic

• 1 medium onion

• 1 bay leaf

• 3 to 5 peppercorns

• 2 medium tomatoes

• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

• 1 tablespoon of butter

• salt (to taste)

• parsley for garnish

Instructions

1. Bring 2 to 2.5 L of water to a boil in a pot and add the following ingredients: lentils; barley; bay leaf; and peppercorns. Boil on medium heat for 20 minutes and then add salt (to taste).

2. Pour olive oil on a hot sauté pan. Once oil becomes hot, add finely chopped onion and sauté for about 5 minutes until it becomes golden brown. Now proceed by adding finely chopped carrots sautéing everything for another minute. Then add tomatoes and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Add tomato paste, sauté for a minute and then add garlic and butter. Turn off the heat.

3. After lentils and barley are fully cooked, remove peppercorns and bayleaf. Transfer sautéed vegetables to the pot with lentils and stir everything together. If you want the soup to be even more acidic than it already is, you can add a sprits of lemon juice. Turn off the heat and garnish your soup with parsley and enjoy!