Red Lentil Soup with Brown Rice

Red lentils make a wonderful soup. They cook to a creamy consistency creating a hearty, full-bodied soup. I usually add some grain to this soup, often brown rice but sometimes barley. This recipe has tomatoes but I don’t always use them. The red lentils also lend themselves to a variety of spices, as you see here.

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Ingredients:

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2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 /2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, with leaves, chopped

1 cup red lentils, rinsed
1/4 cup brown rice, rinsed

5-6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup canned tomatoes

A handful of chopped parsley

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Directions:

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Heat olive oil in a 2 quarts pot, add onion and cook until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally until garlic is fragrant but not browned.

Add carrot and celery and cook just until they begin to soften.

Add lentils and rice and stir to coat them with the oil. Now add 4 cups of the stock as well as the tomatoes and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat, partially cover and let cook about 20 minutes. Check the soup to make sure there is enough liquid, adding the rest of the stock as needed.

Continue cooking until lentils and rice are cooked through, about 30-35 minutes.

When done you can puree the soup in a blender or serve it as is with texture (that’s how I serve it).

Stir the parsley into the soup just before serving.

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