Lentil Soup

Lentil soup is one of the dishes that my mom prepared at least once a week in winter. It is an energetic soup, substantial, rich in vitamins and iron and very good: lentils are enriched with fresh cherry tomatoes and everything is flavored by a delicious ceiling with garlic that gives aroma and taste to the whole soup. 

To complete the dish, fresh parsley and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. A unique delight, embarrassing simplicity and also very quick to prepare. In just over 30′ minutes your soup is ready on the table! Usually mom, she also added a handful of short pasta to make the lentil soup even more complete, she stretched the ready soup with a couple of glasses of water and let it simmer. 

Therefore, you can choose depending on the circumstance, whether to serve it as a simple soup or with a little pasta. One thing is certain, that this lentil soup will conquer you spoon after spoon, I confess to eating double dish and just like mom, I prepare triple dose, the one that advances as a leftover for lunch, I bring it to the table in the evening, the lentil soup is also excellent heated and the following day and if you want to stock up for the winter and give yourself a hot soup more than a few nights a week ready in 2 minutes. You can also freeze it freshly made and defrost it in the fridge slowly half a day before serving, it will be perfect and good as freshly made. Also ideal for the little ones, to whom, if they do not like vegetables and legumes in pieces, you can propose the blended soup.

INGREDIENTS

100 gr of canned lentils

6 cherry tomatoes 

2 cloves of garlic

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 bunch of fresh parsley

salt

80 gr of short pasta (optional)

PROCEDURE

In a saucepan fry the oil with the garlic for 1 ′ until golden brown, then add the cherry tomatoes, previously washed and cut in half. Turn well and let it brown over moderate heat, so that they flavor together with garlic. Add the lentils and most of the parsley rinsed and chopped with a knife. Turn and brown the lentils for about 1minute. Add 1 glass of water, let it boil again and cover with a lid, leaving to cook over moderate heat for about 5 ′ the time that the aromas expand and the lentil soup takes consistency. After the indicated time the soup will have taken on a semi-liquid appearance, the consistency that I love.

Depending on your tastes you can choose whether to get a more copious or slower lentil soup: cook a few more minutes or stretch with another couple of tablespoons of water depending on the result you want to achieve. Finally correct with salt. Serve your lentil soup hot with a drizzle of oil and a few sprigs of parsley.