Italian Lentil Soup
Its officially winter and soups are back in season.
There is nothing better than rugging up under a blanket with a mug of tea and a big bowl of hearty soup and your favourite chick flick.
I’ve really tried to replicate the flavours of a nice, chunky Minestrone soup with this recipe. There are loads of Italian flavours in there that really remind me of my childhood. Coming from an Italian family, my Nonna used to make soups and pasta sauces for me all the time, those were the good old days.
This soup is vegan, gluten free, refined sugar free, healthy and delicious.
If you happen to make or like this recipe, please feel free to contact me through my Instagram
Italian Lentil Soup
What you will need:
A large soup pot, knives, chopping board, measuring utensils, small grater.
Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp of garlic
1 brown onion, diced
1/2 bunch of celery, diced
4 small carrots, diced
1 large zucchini, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
3 cups of silverbeet, roughly chopped
3 tsp of oregano *Use half this amount of the 3 herbs, and see how you go. You can always add more. SS - 11.07.21
2 tsp of basil
2 tsp of thyme
4 bay leaves
2L of vegetable stock (or faux chicken stock for more flavour)
2 tins of organic brown lentils, drained and rinsed well
2 tins of organic diced tomatoes
pink salt to season
ground black pepper to season
Vegan Parmesan
5 macadamias, finely grated
2 tbsp of nutritional yeast
Method:
Begin by chopping and preparing all of the vegetables.
Heat the oil in a large soup pot over a medium heat. Add in the garlic and the onion and sauté until soft and golden.
Next add in the bay leaves, the carrot and the celery and stir well. Cover, cooking for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
Add in all of the spices, the zucchini, the tomato, the 2 tins of diced tomatoes and the stock and stir well.
Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer. Cover the pot 3/4 of the way. Cook for 20 minutes.
Drain and rinse the lentils thoroughly and set aside.
After 20 minutes add in the silverbeet and the lentils. Stir.
Cook for a further 30 minutes, slightly covered.
Grate the macadamias finely and add to a small bowl, add the nutritional yeast. This will be the 'parmesan' to serve with after.
Once the 30 minutes is up, season the soup well with salt and pepper and remove the bay leaves.
Remove from heat and serve.
Serves: 6
Tips:
My vegetable stock was very weak, so I ended up adding quite a bit of salt and pepper to my soup. Just test yours before you add any more salt, as most stocks vary in salt content and might be over powering.
You can serve it into containers and use it for meal prep for the week. It can also be frozen.
And there you have it, my very chunky, very Italian, lentil soup.
Happy cooking lovely's,
Steph xx