Monday, January 24, 2011

Soothing Homemade Lentil Soup


With all the cold weather and snow the city has been having lately, my body has been craving soup more than usual, and yesterday was no exception. Seeing as it was a bitter cold Sunday afternoon, I decided to improvise with the ingredients I had in my kitchen and made a pot of lentil soup. The outcome was so delicious, nutritious, and comforting, that I had to share!

Ingredients:
2 large carrots rinsed, peeled, and chopped (in my case I halfed two handfuls of baby carrots)
1 small onion diced
4 cups organic vegetable broth
2 cups lentils (soaked before hand)
juice of 1/2 or 1/4 of a small organic lemon
1 cup fresh or frozen chopped organic collard greens (Can substitute with spinach or kale)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
First I diced my carrots and onions, and let the onions sit for 10 minutes. (I recently learned that by letting an onion sit, after it's been chopped, increases its cancer fighting properties. When we add to heat, or even add to acidic lemon juice right away, we do not allow enough time for the nutritional enzymes to come through and work on behalf of our health. This is also true of garlic)

Next I put a little bit of water in the pot (just enough to cover the bottom) and threw my carrots and onions in to water sautee for about 5 to 10 minutes.



Next, I I filled the rest of the pot with the veggie broth and lentils. I brought the pot to a boil, reduced heat, covered and let simmer for 45 minutes.



I then removed from heat and added my frozen collard greens. I didn't want the collard greens to cook too much,which is why I added them at the end. (We get the most out of our greens and other veggies when eaten raw or lightly steamed.)



Lastly, I poured in my Extra virgin olive oil, ( I always add my EVOO last as in high temps it can turn to trans fat) a bit of lemon juice, and my salt and pepper to taste. I was left with a delicious and soothing bowl of soup, the perfect addition to an already great Sunday afternoon! I put the leftovers in the fridge and have enough for 2 or 3 more bowls throughout the week.