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You are here: Home / Recipes / Healthy / Simple French Lentil Soup (His and Hers)

Simple French Lentil Soup (His and Hers)

October 18, 2013 Updated February 11, 2019 5 Comments

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When the weather turns cool and there is a chill in the air, I love to snuggle down with a bowl of simple brothy lentil soup.  When I want to ramp up the nutrition and make a heartier soup, I will roast some broccoli and cauliflower and place on top of the bowl of soup.  It didn’t take long for my husband to turn his nose up at all those “veggies”.  I decided to disguise his lentil soup with any form of meat.  I have topped his bowl with ham, bacon, and Italian sausage.  It’s a pretty simply fix.

It’s a pretty simple soup to make two ways.  I’m happy and he’s happy.

 

For the lentil soup you will need:

1 1/2 cups dry French lentils
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery ribs, diced
8 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
8 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

You need to plan a head to make this soup.  Little French green lentils are hard and need to be soaked for a good 24 hours.  I have soaked them for 10 hours and had to simmer all day to soften them up.

Rinse the lentils well.

 

Place in a large bowl because the are going to swell.

 

Cover lentils with water and let them soak for about 24 hours or more.  I have let them soak out for 36 hours.

 

After the lentils have soaked well, begin to prepare the soup by chopping 1 large onion.

 

 

Add to a large pot with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

 

Chop 2 celery ribs.

 

Chop 2 peeled carrots.

 

 

Add to the pot with the onions and olive oil.

 

Saute for about 5 minutes or until the onions begin to soften.

 

Add 8 cloves of garlic.

 

Smash each clove.

 

Then chop.

 

Add to pot of sauteed vegetables.

 

Cook until onions are translucent.

 

Drain soaking lentils.

 

Add to the pot.

 

Add stock.  Homemade chicken stock  is great.  You can use a good quality purchased chicken or vegetable stock.

 

Add the bay leaf.

 

Add several grinds of pepper and 1 teaspoon salt.

 

Add 1 teaspoon dried thyme.

 

Cover the pot and let simmer for about one hour or until lentils are tender.  This could take longer depending on how long the lentils were soaked.

 

Test the lentils and make sure they are nice and tender.

 

Right before serving chop a handful of fresh parsley and add to the soup.

 

To add roasted vegetables.  Place chopped cauliflower and broccoli on a baking sheet drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper.

Place in a preheated 425F oven.

 

Roast for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables begin to brown.

I love to eat the veggies right off the pan with my fingers.  In fact I had to roast another batch because I snacked on the first pan.  Love.

 

For the meat eater:

Dice precooked ham.

 

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a sautee pan.

 

Add ham.

 

Saute until the ham begins to brown and is a little crisp.  I have to admit the ham gives the soup a delicious smokey flavor.

 

To serve:  Remove bay leaf and discard.

 

 

Check the seasonings.  Add more salt and pepper if needed.  Add a good handful of chopped parsley.

Simple French lentil soup two ways.

Hers.

 

His.

 

Either way this is warming comfort food for a chilly day.

5 from 1 vote
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Simple French Lentil Soup

So simple and so good. Lentil soup is a filling vegetarian dish, or you can add ham to taste.

Course Soup
Cuisine French
Keyword french lentil soup, french lentil soup recipe, vegetarian lentil soup
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Soak 1 day
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 187 kcal
Author Janet Barton

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups dry French lentils
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion diced
  • 2 carrots peeled and diced
  • 2 celery ribs diced
  • 8 cloves garlic smashed and chopped
  • 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/3 cup fresh parsley chopped

Optional:

  • Roasted cauliflower and broccoli
  • diced sauteed ham

Instructions

  1. Rinse lentils and place in a large bowl.  Cover with water and soak for 24 hours.

  2. In a large pot saute onions, carrots and celery in olive oil.  Saute for a few minutes then add chopped garlic. Cook until onions are translucent and carrots and celery begin to soften.  Add stock, thyme and bay leaf. Cover and simmer for about an hour or until lentils and vegetables are tender.  Season with salt and pepper. Right before serving add a handful of chopped fresh parsley.
  3. Ladle soup into bowls and top with roasted cauliflower and broccoli or sauteed ham...or both.
Nutrition Facts
Simple French Lentil Soup
Amount Per Serving
Calories 187 Calories from Fat 27
% Daily Value*
Fat 3g5%
Saturated Fat 0g0%
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 956mg40%
Potassium 438mg13%
Carbohydrates 28g9%
Fiber 11g44%
Sugar 4g4%
Protein 9g18%
Vitamin A 3275IU66%
Vitamin C 7.8mg9%
Calcium 40mg4%
Iron 3.2mg18%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

 

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Filed Under: Healthy, Soups Tagged With: autumn soups, french lentils, Ham, lentil soup, soup, step-by-step instruction, step-by-step photo's., warming meals

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kathy Ramos says

    March 23, 2016 at 1:47 pm

    This looks absolutely amazing!

    Reply
  2. Danhiskka says

    October 20, 2013 at 3:33 am

    Wow, I just reread my comment, so many errors! sorry about that, but my new phone is still learning spanish (!!) and makes disasters with words in other languajes 😛

    I would love to have you over to dinner!

    Tomorrow is Mother's day, and as an special treat to my mum, this morning my baby brother (he's 25) came to my place and we cook together (some dips, bread, chocolate flan, dressings for the salads and cookies), and tomorrow he's going to be on grill duty. So proud of him!!

    Love,

    Reply
    • Janet Barton says

      October 21, 2013 at 1:43 am

      You are amazing! One lucky mum.

      Reply
  3. Danhiskka says

    October 18, 2013 at 11:20 pm

    Ohh, lentils soup is the best!
    Here is so SO common to eat it that we have lentils that only need to soak for an hour, and then cook in just 20 minutes! Is a quick, cheap and hearty supper.

    There are some differences though. We are very influenced by both spanish and italian cuisine, so we usually add paprika, chorizo, pancetta, and beef (I don't add any animal protein, because I feel that it makes the soup to heavy. What a baby!).

    Have you tried to leave the garlic cloves whole with skin and all? Then, when everything is cooked through you squeeze them, and add the puree to the soup 🙂

    My patio garden is starting to hatch, the beans are growing so fast that I think they my be some kind of mutants…

    Reply
    • Janet Barton says

      October 20, 2013 at 2:26 am

      I need to come eat at your house. I love the idea of leaving the skin on the garlic. I will try it. You are lucky to be growing your own beans. Fresh beans from a garden are fabulous. As always, it's great to hear from you.

      Reply
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