My name is Chloe Holmes and it looks like we will be cooking together. I am a wannabe actor, singer, writer, comedian, and foodie. So basically I am interested in many things that will leave me penniless forever. Oh well, at least I have some delicious recipes to keep me company. Which is really all a girl needs right? (and wine and chocolate of course)
I have struggled with my weight since I was 8 years old and have a stomach condition which keeps me from eating most unhealthy (you know, the delicious kind) foods. So my recipes try to lighten up meals without losing ANY flavor or using those weird health food store ingredients that confound most of us (and empty our wallets). I will be honest with you guys if certain things in recipes really cannot be lightened without losing taste and/or the right texture. But let's hope it never comes to that, shall we? Now...TO THE FOOD!
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Healthy and Hearty (and vegan) Lentil Soup
INGREDIENTS:
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion (I used purple for color but it doesn't matter), chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 large stalk of celery, chopped
- 1 large zucchini, chopped
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 lb bag of lentils
- 1 quart low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons wine (I had white open already so that's what I used)
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and pepper
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Heat oil over medium heat in a medium to large pot until it ripples, about 2-3 minutes
2. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and zucchini to the pot and sauté until tender, about 5-7 minutes (add a pinch of salt and pepper here)
3. Add lentils and garlic and stir until fragrant, about a minute (here we're coating and lightly toasting the lentils like we would do if we were making risotto...but that's a different post)
4. Add broth, tomatoes (with accompanying juice), water, and all the herbs
5. Add the wine**
6. Bring up to a boil, then immediately reduce to low and simmer, covered, for 30-40 minutes until the lentils have soaked up enough liquid and are tender
7. Taste broth, remove bay leaf, and add more salt to taste*
8. NOM the living daylights out of it
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*I add more salt at the end here instead of when I add the liquids because I want to see what natural flavors come out of all of the ingredients as they cook down by themselves. I was afraid that if I added salt at the beginning it would taste too salty at the end
**I always add at least a splash of wine when I am cooking with tomatoes because tomatoes contain certain alcohol soluble flavors. That is, some of the tomatoes flavors can only be harnessed with the addition of alcohol. Science, right? But a heads up, not all of the alcohol gets burned off while cooking. If that is a problem for anyone, substitute white or red wine vinegars in recipes that call for wine.
