French Lentil Soup
Ingredients:
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
4 large celery stalks, chopped
4 large carrots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups vegetable broth
1.5 cups brown or “green” lentils (they are called green lentils, but look brown to me!), thoroughly rinsed and drained
1 can diced tomatoes (about 15 oz)
1 russet potato, scrubbed, rinsed, and diced (no need to peel… that’s where the nutrients are!)
8 fresh thyme sprigs (or about 1 Tbsp dried thyme)
1 cup full-fat oat milk
salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions:
Add oil, onions, celery, carrots (gotta love a good mirepoix!), and garlic (along with a little salt and pepper) to a large heavy bottom pot, and cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat until tender.
Add in veggie broth, lentils, tomatoes (include all the juices from the can - don’t strain!), potatoes, thyme sprigs, and even more salt and pepper (the amount is up to you - you can adjust later! I always “undersalt” everything, according to my mother…)
Bring to a rolling boil and turn heat to medium low (so you can still see a rolling simmer), cover, and let cook for about 35 minutes, or until the lentils are extremely tender.
Using tongs or a long fork, remove thyme sprigs and discard (by this point all the leaves should be in the soup, so you will just be discarding little twigs).
Using an immersion blender, blend about 1/2-3/4 of the soup, leaving some chunks (or carefully blending, a few cups at a time, with a standing blender).
Stir in oat milk until well-mixed, and season again with salt and pepper according to your taste-buds.
Garnish with some more fresh thyme, and enjoy!
