If you are looking to warm yourself and feel good at the same time, this Hearty Vegetable and Lentil Soup is for you. A soup loaded with green lentils, carrots, celery green beans and onions in a warming vegetable broth. Serve with some Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls and you’re all set. No better food in January that a bowl full of goodness to set things right!
Now that we’re past the the holiday season and making a fresh start for 2018, let’s dive into some healthy dishes! Yes, I’m for it all after the long indulgent period. Who’s with me? So, today we’re kicking things off with this super healthy and Hearty Vegetable & Lentil Soup!
Well, quite honestly this was another clean out the fridge meal. I had zero expectations and never imagined it would transpire into a blog post. The soup surprised me with the depth of flavour and all around deliciousness. I was planning it to last two days, but somehow we managed to gobble it all up in one day. Not one sitting though, that might be a tad tough.
What Made This Soup So Good
I think it was the sheer combination of all the ingredients. Duhhh, isn’t that what makes most stuff good? Well, somehow this combination just worked. I literally used every single vegetable I found in the house. At least the ones that still had life left in them. It all worked and I will be making it again soon.
Let’s take a little look at the soup
I used good ol’ hearty vegetables for this soup and it really worked. To bring out the flavour in the soup, I fried the bay leaves with some of the vegetables before adding any stock. This always helps bring out flavour in any dish. I also used a whole lot of fresh thyme and that is a great addition to any vegetable dish. If you don’t make your own stock, make sure you use good quality stock. After all, it is a huge part of the soup.
Recipe Notes
- When you look into the recipe below you will see that I added a little sherry vinegar.ย It really gave the soup that something extra.ย You don’t need a special sherry vinegar, any kind will do. If you don’t have any, just use white wine vinegar.ย But I don’t recommend skipping the vinegar all together.ย Unless, of course, you don’t like vinegar.ย
- This soup is best made in advance and then eaten a few hours later.ย I ate it just after it was cooked and then again later that same day.ย The second bowl was far better.ย So,ย I recommend making it early on and then eating it a bit later once the flavours got a bit more depth to them.ย Don’t get me wrong, it was still good fresh out of the pot, just better later on.
And if you love lentil soups, you got to check out my Tomato & Lentil Soup! A super easy one that you want to have in your dinner rotation this winter!
Enjoy and happy cooking. See you all again real soon!
Here’s Some Other Great Healthy Soups You’ll Like To Try
Hearty Vegetable & Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 3 Carrots peeled and finely diced
- 3 ribs Celery finely diced
- 1 Leek finely chopped
- 2 Potatoes peeled and cut into one inch pieces
- 1 Cup cabbage shredded
- 1 Cup Green beans ends trimmed and cut into three sections length ways
- 1/2 Cup green lentils
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
- 1/4 Cup sherry vinegar
- 1 Cup white wine
- 1 Teaspoon dried sage
- Small bunch fresh thyme
- Small bunch fresh parsley
- 3 Bay leaves
- 2 Tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves Garlic crushed
- Sea salt
- Fresh black pepper
Instructions
- In a large stainless steel pot set over medium to high heat add the olive oil and garlic. Stir for just a minute. Add the carrots, celery, leeks and bay leaves. Stir really well and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and give a good stir.
- Add all the cooking wine at once with the fresh thyme and dried sage. Bring to a simmer and leave until the wine evaporates, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the stock, cabbage, green beans and lentils. Stir well and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and cover. Leave to cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove thyme sprigs. Add sherry vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Leave for a further 2 minutes or so to simmer.
- Serve topped with fresh parsley.
*A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
