This Hearty Lentil Soup Will Warm Your Winter Nights

There's nothing like a hot bowl of soup to warm you up and make you feel cozy on a cold winter night. And after all the indulgences during holiday parties and sweet treats at the office, it's refreshing to eat something pure and wholesome. Have you noticed how a salad or veggie soup tastes even better than usual after you've been eating too much junk food? That's why we think this dish is just the thing to help set your eating habits back on the right track, as well as please everyone in your family.

There are lots of variations of lentil soup out there. This recipe is from Chef Jane Coxwell, Diane Von Furstenberg's personal chef. She says this soup is her client's favorite recipe.

"It's incredibly healthy, hearty and tasty," Jane says. "The mushrooms add a good depth of flavor, and the addition of lemon at the end finishes it off well."

This is the type of soup you can make on a Sunday night and then reheat for the next few nights. One of the great things about a soup like this, is that you can even use it as a hearty sauce — it would be perfect with some roast chicken. To make a great side dish, you could add any leafy winter green to the soup — kale, fresh spinach, and so on.

And lentils are a great food for vegetarians or people who don't eat much meat because they are packed with protein and iron.

Great winter eating!

Winter Lentil Soup

Serves 3

Ingredients

1/4 red onion, finely chopped

1/2 Serrano chili, seeded and chopped

1 large clove garlic, minced/microplaned

1/4 cup carrot, finely chopped

1/4 cup celery stalks, finely chopped

1 cup button mushroom, finely chopped

1 heaped teaspoon cumin

1 heaped teaspoon coriander

1 tomato, chopped

3/4 cup lentils, washed and picked

Agave nectar

Lemon

Sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

Olive oil

Cilantro (optional)

Directions

1. In a pot over a low to medium heat, add a good lug of olive oil along with the onion, garlic, chili, carrot, celery, and mushroom, and sweat down for about 5 minutes.

2. Add the spices and stir around for a couple of minutes. Turn the heat up slightly, so that they toast and release all of their flavor.  Then add the tomato and cook for a further couple of minutes.

3. Add the lentils along with 4 cups of water or vegetable broth. Bring to a simmer, add a pinch of salt, and let it cook for about 40 minutes. You'll probably have to top it up with water once or twice. That's okay, but be careful not to put too much liquid — just enough so that everything is floating nicely and nothing will catch on the bottom. You can always add liquid at the end, but you can't really take away.

4. After 40 minutes the lentils should be really tender. Pour half of the mixture into a blender and pulse until it's nearly smooth, but not too smooth. This step is really up to you and how you prefer the texture to be. The way I like it is to blend half until almost smooth and add it back into the pot with the non-pureed lentils. This gives it a lovely full texture. You may want to blend all of it until very smooth or not blend any at all. Whatever makes you happy.

5. To finish the soup off, add the juice of 1 lemon, some salt, and a good twist of black pepper. Also a squeeze of agave nectar to balance it out. Check the seasoning and add more lemon, agave, and salt as necessary. Snip over a small handful of fresh cilantro to finish off, or serve as is.

~ Chef Jane Coxwell 

Image credit: John Bedell