Homemade Lentil Soup

 

Easy-to-make organic French green lentil soup sauteed in garlic, onions, bell peppers, and tomatoes with sardines and organic kale. It’s clean eating, healthy, and delicious.

Hello! I hope you are enjoying summer. We only have the rest of this month before summer is over. School will soon resume. So, enjoy every minute of it.  We’ll be back to our normal routine before we know it.

A post from someone made me think of the lentils I purchased from Wegman’s last week. My main objective was to make a salad. Well, I did just that.

But,  I cooked too much and have some leftover lentils and I thought of making soup using my mother’s Mung bean recipe.

Growing up, my mother would cook mung bean soup often simply because of the fact that it’s not only delicious and nutritious, but also because it’s economical. Two to three cups of cooked lentils can feed a family of eight.  Her recipe is very easy to prepare. All you have to do is saute some of ingredients and add the cooked lentils and water, season and bring it to a boil and add the rest of the ingredients and you’re done. Easy-peasy.

The one thing I love about her soup recipe is she would add plenty of green leafy vegetables such as bitter melon leaves, moringa leaves, and Chinese spinach and would also add sardines in tomato sauce if we couldn’t afford to buy meat. She would serve it family style with steamed white rice.  I could eat it all day. 🙂

If you want to make this recipe, you can add chicken or pork if sardines are not available. Your choice. I prefer adding sardines because it’s healthier. This soup would be great come winter months.  I will make it again for sure.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups raw organic French green lentils
• 2 Tablespoons cold pressed organic olive oil
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 of medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup chopped organic tomatoes
• 1/4 of each organic tricolor (red, yellow, orange) bell peppers, cubed
• 5.5 oz can sardines in tomato sauce ( you can use the spicy sardines if you prefer)
• 5 oz. / 142 g organic kale or any green leafy vegetables such as spinach and arugula
• salt and pepper to taste ( I used organic Himalaya pink sea salt)
• water according to package directions plus 4 to 6 cups of water.

Directions:

• Read the tips below before making this recipe to prevent mishap.
• Cook the lentils according to package directions; set aside.
• Heat a deep skillet with a lid over medium heat. Add the olive oil.
• Add and saute the garlic and onions until onions are translucent.
• Add the tomatoes and stir. Saute until the tomatoes are somewhat wilted. Add the sardines and stir.   Add the cooked lentils and water. Season with salt and pepper.
• Bring to a boil and add the kale or the green leafy veggies of your choosing.  Cook for 30 seconds. Turn off stove.  Cover for 3 minutes.  The steam will cook the kale. Serve warm with steamed rice or as is.

Tips:

• Make sure the skillet or pan you are using is large enough to accommodate the lentils and water or it will overflow.
• You can add all the water required or more or less depending on how much sauce you prefer. Season with salt and pepper according to your taste.

 

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