Fakess

Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 1 onion
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 carrots
• 4 celery ribs
• 5 garlic cloves
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 2 cups chicken broth, fat free
• 1 1/2 cups dried brown lentils
• 8 cups water
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper (to taste)

Recipe

• 1 wash and trim the onion, carrots and celery and dice them.
• 2 put the onion, carrot, celery and olive oil in a larger, non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat.
• 3 stir the vegetables every few minutes so they don't burn.
• 4 once the vegetables have softened, after 7-10 minutes, add garlic, bay leaves, and chicken stock and turn the heat down to low so the pan is just simmering.
• 5 check over the lentils carefully for rocks or other foreign matter--remove them.
• 6 rinse and drain the lentils.
• 7 add lentils to a stock pot or very large sauce pan with 6 cups of water.
• 8 put lentils over high heat until they are come to a rolling boil.
• 9 once the lentils boil, cover them with a lid and turn the heat down to medium or medium low (they should be gently boiling.).
• 10 once lentils have boiled for 25 minutes, add the remaining 2 cups of water and boil for 10 more minutes.
• 11 remove lentils from heat and take out 2 cups of lentils and place them in a separate bowl.
• 12 add the vegetables and stock mixture to the lentil pan with the remaining lentils.
• 13 remove bay leaves.
• 14 use immersion blender to puree the soup.
• 15 stir in the tomato paste and the 2 cups of reserved lentils into the pureed soup.
• 16 heat the soup over low heat until it comes to a simmer.
• 17 stir in the balsamic vinegar.
• 18 add salt and pepper to taste.
• 19 serve.
• 20 note: this soup freezes well.