a lentil soup??

[triona.d.]

does anyone have a good lentil soup which isn't too tomatoey? i love lentils and i love soup but i want to be able to taste the lentils! thanks!:)

[Haniska]

Progresso makes a nice one :D

[Tigerlily]

I don't think they have Progresso in the UK.

My mom makes a soup of simply water, lentils (green or red), rice, and onions. I don't know the exact measurements (she doesn't follow recipes and she never measures anything). But definitely more water than lentils and more lentils than rice. She fries up the onion in oil before adding the other ingredients.

The green lentils keep their shape.

The red lentils disintegrate and become yellow. The soup becomes like a creamy soup, very yummy.

[Yogini]

This has no tomatoes, but I've had people complain about the lemon juice.

Put 1.5 cups lentils into a pot with 8 cups veggie stock, cover and bring to simmer. Cut 1 large potato into bite size chunks and add to pot. Cover and simmer for 30-40 mins. In a small frypan over medium heat, cook 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped, in 4 tbs olive oil until soft and golden. Add 1/3 cup chopped cilantro and 3 cloves pressed garlic and cook another 1-2 mins. During last five minutes of cooking, add the onion mixture to the soup. Add salt, pepper, and fresh lemon juice to taste.

Spinach makes a nice addition.

[Pob]

I don't remember the Heinz one being too tomatoey. It does have tomato puree in, but I don't think it was overpowering.

[Wildflower]

I always think that lentil soups have way too many lentils...these are very lentil-y, but do have some tomatoes added.

http://www.theppk.com/recipes/dbrecipes/recipe.php?RecipeID=105

I would recommend adding the spices last - it tasted great at first, but after cooking it to get the lentils done, the spices kind of faded...maybe do that, but add more at the end.

I also have another simple one from an Itallian veggie cookbook i own, but it does call for a tin of tomatoes. I don't think it is overly tomatoey though if you want me to type it in.

[triona.d.]

mmm...that one looks delicious, thanks wildflower - i will try it out when i go home this weekend. if you find a spare minute, i'd love your other one too - thankyou so much, really appreciated.
thanks yogini and tigerlilly - they also sound good. not really a very good cook so wary of having to work without measurements but maybe it's time to experiment...!
thanks again all, happy veganing!!!
love triona :)

[Smoothie]

well, maybe lentil soup is a good place to start experimenting? there's nothing better, than being able to go into a kitchen, and just play with the taste, consistensy and look of your own food:)

[Tigerlily]

You can never go wrong with soups!

[zorbed]

I just cook some lentils, simmer the water down 'til it's about level with the lentils, chuck in some salt & pepper then mush it up with a hand blender.
Or you can chuck in some chopped chillies for a bit of a kick.

[Woodsie]

Hi ... I don't use tomatoes in Lentil Soup. This is very easy, ingredients are approximate as I never weigh/measure anything (sloppy cook but most stuff comes out ok!)

Tin Brown Lentils
Large Potato, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 sticks celery, diced
Tin sweetcorn (optional)
Water to cover
Vegetable stock powder (1 - 2 Tbsp to taste)
Chopped parsley

Put everything except parsley and lentils into saucepan. Boil til vegetables are tender. Add lentils and parsley. For a creamier consistency add 1T soya cream at the end.

[Wildflower]

here you go triona...

Lentil Soup, from Itallian Vegetarian Cooking by Jo Marcangelo

2 tablespoonsful olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2 lb / 225 g /1 cupful green or brown lentils, washed and drained (i used green french lentils)
1/2 lb /225 g/ 1 small tin tomatoes, coursely chopped, and their juice
2 pints / 1.15 litres / 5 cupfuls vegeable stock
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the onion until lightly browned. Add the celery, carrots and garlic and fry for a further 2-3 minutes, stirring from time to time.
2. Stir in the lentils, the tomatoes with their juice and the stock. Cover the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender and cooked and have thickened the soup - up to 45-60 minutes.
3. Taste the soup for seasoning, add salt and pepper. Serve.

Variation - About 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time, add 6 oz / 175 g / 1 1/2 cupfuls wholemeal elbow macaroni. Adding extra boiling water to the soup, if necessary.

[triona.d.]

thanks everyone, i'm home for the weekend so will give one of these delicious sounding recipes a go (i must admit i had some shop-bought lentil soup for lunch today by pure and pronto and it was gorgeous...but so expensive!)

[triona.d.]

thanks all - i tried out yogini's lentil soup this weekend and it was DELICIOUS! i didn't like the look of the chunks of potatoes so i whizzed it in the blender. also added some peas and carrots (finely chopped) at the begining with the potato because i wanted some extra goodness in there! worked well i think...my mum loved it too! i'm so pleased i've got a recipe now because the one i was buying was SO expensive! thanks again, will let you know if/when i try any of the others, tri

[Yogini]

I'm so glad you liked it!:D

[Jody]

I had next to no ingredients so I made a lentil soup with a vegie stock cube, bit of brown rice, half a shaved zucchini and 1 potato. I will probably blend it up..
I think lentil soup is the easiest you can pretty much chuck anything in there!! (well almost!)
Some great ideas in this thread though. :)

[Astrid]

Millet, spinach and Puy lentil soup:
1/2 cup millet
1 cup dry Puy lentils (or any other lentil that holds it shape well after cooking)
1 large onion, or 2 small
1 large red bell pepper, or 2 small
4-6 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
3 cups water
1 cup apple juice
2 vegetable stock cubes
250 grams fresh spinach (not baby spinach)

Dice the onion and bell pepper, and finely chop the garlic. Sauté in some oil, add cumin, water, apple juice and stock (dissolve the first stock cube, add more to taste). While bringing the liquid to a boil, rinse the millet in a sieve under the tap, with warm water first, then cold. Add to the soup to simmer for 15 minutes. At the same time, cook the lentils in a different pot (I like to do this because the lentils give the water an unappetizing dark green-brown colour) until nearly ready, about 15 minutes (depends on the lentils used). Drain and rinse the lentils and add to the soup. Rinse and chop the spinach leaves and add to soup. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Add more water if necessary. Voila!

If you like, different spices can be added instead of or alongside the cumin, like ginger powder, cardamom and chili.

[sugarmouse]

Here is another lentil soup recipe I make that I just dug out.As usual nothings measured lol!

Cooked Red Lentils (yellow split peas work too for this)
Chilli paste/flakes/powder
Tin of plum tomatos
vegetable stock made up into liquid
Soy milk.
Chopped green pepper (optional)
Soy cream (optional)

Whizz all ingredients in a blender apart from veg stock, optional ingredients and chilli.
Put in a pan and add stock until desired 'runniness' is reached. Add chilli paste/powder or whatever to taste, and peppers if using.
Serve with a blob of 'cream'.

Voila.

[fondducoeur]

I just made a very yummy lentil soup. It has tomatoes, but was not tomatoey at all. It's from the Chicago Diner Cookbook:

1.5 dried lentils
1 bay leaf
1.5 quarts of water
2/3 cup chopped carrots
3/4 cupu chopped onion
2 cloves garlic minced
0.5 cup chopped celery
0.5 chopped green or red pepper
15 oz. can stewed tomatoes
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup soy sauce

Put the lentils in a large pot with the bay leaf and water, and cook covered on med. heat for 30 minutes. Add the carrots and onion, and cook until tender. Add the garlic, celery, bell pepper, tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and simmer 30 minutes more. Adjust the seasonings and add the soy sauce.
Mmmm...

I let mine cook a little longer, added much more pepper, and dropped some tabasco in it before eating.

[RubyDuby]

I am so making lentil soup tomorrow.

[fondducoeur]

How did it turn out Ruby?

[Roxy]

Mmmm that sounds delicous! What colour lentils did you use, fondducoeur?

[RubyDuby]

How did it turn out Ruby?

I'm actually making it today instead. It's on the stove right now. :)
smells so good.
will post some pics in the vegan food thread.

[fondducoeur]

Mmmm that sounds delicous! What colour lentils did you use, fondducoeur?

I used brown lentils, and was happy with how it turned out.