Lentil and Escarole Soup
- Total Time
- 1 hour 10 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1small onion, finely chopped
- 1large or 2 small carrots, cut in small dice
- 3 to 4garlic cloves, minced
- ¼teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 114-ounce can chopped tomatoes, with juice; or ¾ pound tomatoes, seeded and grated
- 1cup lentils, washed and picked over
- A bouquet garni made with a bay leaf, a few sprigs each thyme and parsley, and a Parmesan rind
- 6cups water
- Salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 1small head escarole, washed and roughly chopped about 6 cups
- Optional: 4 to 6 slices country bread, toasted and rubbed with a cut clove of garlic
For the Lentil and Escarole Soup
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
205 calories; 5 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 32 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 10 grams protein; 827 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
For the Lentil and Escarole Soup
- Step 1
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion and carrots. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender, about five minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Stir in the tomatoes. Bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring, until the tomatoes have cooked down slightly and smell fragrant, five to 10 minutes. Add the lentils and simmer with the tomato mixture for a few minutes, then add the bouquet garni and the water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and add salt to taste (1 to 2 teaspoons). Cover and simmer 30 minutes.
- Step 2
Add the escarole, and bring back to a simmer. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the escarole and the lentils are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the bouquet garni.
- Step 3
Toast slices of country bread if desired and rub with a cut clove of garlic. Place a slice in each bowl, ladle in the soup and serve.
- Advance preparation: The soup will keep for three or four days in the refrigerator.
Private Notes
Comments
My pet peeve is people who completely change up recipes, then review them. Having said that, this is a completely malleable recipe, and a great base from which to work. I live in a neighborhood where all the ingredients aren't readily available, but my improvisation turned out to be quite tasty. The base was onions, carrots, lentils. I used stock, dried herbs (thyme, oregano + fresh parsley) and the escarole in the market looked meh, so used frozen spinach. Grated parm. GREAT.
Sure, you can substitute other lentils, other greens, other cheese, but you owe it to yourself to try the combination of lentils, escarole and parmesan because of how well they complement each other.
Added celery and more carrots. Used vegetable stock instead of water. Sooo good and healthful.
Really good — added chicken to it just seasoned with turmeric, garlic powder and paprika and served it over rice instead of with bread. Also added tomato paste for a little extra taste!
This was so good and so simple. Used chicken stock for the flavor and a larger can of chopped tomatoes. Glad I did, as it added richness to the simple preparation. Dried thyme was all I had, but so happy to have had a parmesan rind to put into the pot. We had our bread on the side with some softened goat cheese and it was a lovely dinner.
A truly wonderful, comforting soup. Just hits the spot. Used veg broth instead of water and 1 cup of parm broth that I had on hand. Added a splash of red wine vinegar as suggested in comments and it really did zip it all together. This is an instant hit in my house.