French Lentil Soup

Dec. 7, 2009 at 10:55am

Great for a cold winter day.  Lentils require no presoaking and are an easy first step toward including heart-healthy plant proteins in your meals.  We've found that French lentils hold their shape better than the regular varieties.  They are available in specialty food stores or by mail order.

1 cup French Lentils
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chopped yellow onion
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup chopped white portion of leek
2 cups dices carrots
8 cups of non-fat chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste

Place lentils in a large bowl and cover with 2 cups boiling water.  Let stand 15 minutes.  Drain.

Heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet.  Add onion, garlic and leek; saute 10 minutes over medium heat. Add carrots; saute 10 minutes longer.

In a stockpot, combine broth, salt, pepper, thyme and cumin.  Bring to a boil.  Add lentils, tomato sauce and tomato paste, and sauteed vegetables.  Bring to a second boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 1 hour or until lentils are tender.

6 servings

APPROXIMATE NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION PER SERVING 
CALORIES - 304
 CARBOHYDRATES - 47 g
 TOTAL FAT - 5 g
PROTEIN - 17 g
 CHOLESTEROL - 3 mg
 SATURATED FAT - 0 g
SODIUM - 804 mg
DIETARY FIBER - 18 g

Posted in Recipes by Joe