• Cooking Time: 1 hour
• Servings: 4-6
• Preparation Time: 15 min
• 2 T olive oil
• 1/2 white or yellow onion, diced
• 3 large carrots, diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced (and one branch of celery leaves diced)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup of red lentils, washed thoroughly
• 1 16 oz container of chicken stock (or vegetable stock if this is for a vegetarian/vegan)
• 1 8 oz can of diced tomatoes (or if you don't have any, 1/2 cup of plain maranara sauce)
• 3/4 t salt
• 1/2 t garlic powder
• water as needed for desired consistency

1. In a medium size soup pot, heat olive oil and sautee onions, carrots, celery, garlic and salt until onions are translucent and carrots are softened. Halfway through sautéing, add garlic powder. Put lentils in pot and pour chicken or veggie stock on top. Stir until all ingredients are mixed and turn heat up. Add tomatoes (or sauce) and bring to a slow boil. Cover and simmer for one hour, stirring every 10 minutes or so. If soup seems too thick, add water to thin out. Taste test and add salt/pepper as needed. For a smoother soup, puree half or all of the soup in a blender and mix back in to pot (or use an immersion blender) Leave as is for a hearty/chunky soup.

This is a simple, delicious recipe and you can use any kind of lentil, but red lentils make it very delicate and have a great flavor. My Mom always made amazing, creative, delicious soups with whatever ingredients we had on hand in the house/refrigerator. I always loved them, especially the lentil soups she made. My sister did not like lentils, so she never wanted the soups - she nicknamed the soups "Mom's yucky soup". My Dad also was not a soup person, so he caught on and it became the family joke. However, over the years, this simply delicious soup has become very popular, and even my sister has acquired a taste for lentils and loves Mom's soups.