"Lent"il Soup: In Honor of Lent

I wanted to make something meatless for Chad and I for the Lent season. I found this really easy, and delicious recipe from Alton on the FN website. It sure could have come in handy today for lunch when I absentmindely ate the gumbo leftover from last night's meal.

We had already eaten an early dinner because we had service at 7pm, but I made this to be one of our standby meals. I plan to bring a bit to work, and then freeze the rest.

As always, Alton has come through with his recipes. The only thing I omitted was the grains of paradise as I have never heard of, nor had this on hand. I added about 1 1/2 Tbs. of fresh ground pepper to make it peppery. For garnish I added homemade croutons (french bread cubed, brushed with olive oil and toasted) and carrot shavings.

Lentil Soup

(Alton Brown)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup finely chopped carrot

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 pound lentils, picked and rinsed

1 cup peeled and chopped tomatoes

2 quarts chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground toasted cumin

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground grains of paradise

Place the olive oil into a large 6-quart Dutch oven and set over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion, carrot, celery and salt and sweat until the onions are translucent, approximately 6 to 7 minutes. Add the lentils, tomatoes, broth, coriander, cumin and grains of paradise and stir to combine. Increase the heat to high and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook at a low simmer until the lentils are tender, approximately 35 to 40 minutes. Using a stick blender, puree to your preferred consistency. Serve immediately.