Red Lentil Soup with Lemon

• servings: 8 servings
• active time: 15 minutes
• total time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil (,, use a few drops of water to sauté instead for oil-free)

1 large onion (, diced)

3 sticks celery (, diced)

2 large carrots (, diced)

5 cloves garlic (, chopped finely)

3 to 4 potatoes (, diced)

1½ cups (300 grams) dried split red lentils (, sometimes labelled Masoor Dal)

1 tablespoon dried mixed herbs blend (, such as Herbes de Provence or Italian seasoning)

2 teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 to 7 cups (1440 - 1680 mls) stock

1 tablespoon sugar

3 fresh lemons

4 to 5 big handfuls chopped kale (, or other greens of choice)

Directions

Warm a large soup pan or Dutch Oven over a medium heat and add the olive oil.

Sauté the onion, celery and carrots together until turning golden. Don't rush them. It will take about 10 minutes.

Add the garlic, potatoes, lentils, herbs, salt, and pepper and continue to cook for a few minutes.

Add 6 cups of the stock and the sugar and stir well. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered until the potatoes are fork tender and the lentils have more or less broken down. It should take about 20 minutes. Check the thickness. If you prefer it thinner add the rest of the stock. (Remember that lemon juice goes in at the end and will thin it a little more).

Add the greens, stir and allow to cook in the simmering soup for 5 minutes, unless you are using spinach, in which case it will be cooked more or less immediately once it's been stirred in.

Turn off the heat. squeeze in the juice of the lemons, stir well. Taste to check seasoning and add more as necessary. Check the thickness again. Add some hot water from a kettle if you want to thin it down, then serve immediately.

Nutrition

• Calories: 245 kcal
• Total Fat: 2 g
• Saturated Fat: 0.3 g
• Sodium: 1332 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 45 g
• Dietary Fiber: 14 g
• Total Sugars: 6 g
• Protein: 12 g