Italian red lentil soup
"Italian red lentil soup is a great way to get more vegetables, legumes, and fiber into your diet without your family complaining that it's too healthy," advises the recipe's author and nutrition and food expert Karolína Fourová.
Ingredients · Servings For 4–6 people
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 pcs onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 pcs carrots
- 3 stalks celery
- 200 g red lentils
- 400 g canned tomatoes, chopped
- 1 l vegetable broth
- 2 pcs bay leaves
- 2 tbsp parmesan cheese
Method · 1 h 10 min
- Heat the oil and butter in a saucepan. Add the onion and fry until translucent, then add the garlic and fry for another 2 minutes. Then add the carrots and celery and fry for another 4 minutes.
- Add the red lentils, stir and sauté for 2 minutes, pour in the canned tomatoes and stock. Stir and add the bay leaf and salt as needed (depending on the saltiness of the stock).
- Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat, stir in the grated Parmesan cheese and let it simmer for about 40 minutes. As the soup thickens, stir occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.
- Remove the bay leaf from the finished soup and blend it briefly with a hand blender until it thickens and becomes creamy, but most of the vegetable pieces still remain in it.
- Season with black pepper and salt to taste. Sprinkle with basil leaves and Parmesan cheese if desired and serve with bread. We chose a baguette drizzled with a little olive oil and toasted in the oven, but sourdough bread would also be great with the soup.