Vegetable and Lentil Soup with Elbows

It’s dark when I get home from work now in the evenings, and it’s cold.  Cold to me.  So it makes me want comfort food.  Maybe my idea of comfort food is different than a lot of peoples, because when people say comfort food, they often talk about butter, sugar, and oil laden foods.  The foods that bring me comfort though are soups and chowders, and stews.  Foods that steam in their bowl . 

It's not going to be long at all before the only thing I want to do when I get home from work is curl up with a steaming mug of hot chocolate and hunker down under a blanket with a good book.

Did you know that Lentils are one of the best vegetable sources of iron?  Considering my being turned away recently from giving blood for having low iron, I wanted to find a natural way to get more iron into my diet, and these things are perfect. Once I figure out how to combine lentils and spinach in the same dish, I'll have my super food.

This is actually an inspired recipe. I wanted to make Lentils, but I had no idea how to use them or what to do with them as I’d never cooked them before.  I’m doubtful I’d ever had them before, honestly. This is a big batch of soup, too, so I’m hoping it freezes well, as that was my intention when I made it.

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 medium Spanish onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

3 celery stalks, chopped

1 leek, chopped

1 parsnip, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes (with Garlic & Onion)

1 pound lentils

8 cups chicken broth *

4 to 6 fresh thyme sprigs (or 1 tsp dried)

2/3 cup (2 oz) dried elbow pasta 

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, leek, parsnip, and celery and sauté until soft, about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper and continue to sauté until all the vegetables are tender, about 5 more minutes.

Add the tomatoes with their juices, and simmer until the juices evaporate a little and the tomatoes break down, stirring occasionally, about 8-10 minutes. Add the lentils and mix to coat. Add the broth and stir. Add the thyme sprigs. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer on low heat until the lentils are almost tender, about 30 minutes.

Stir in the pasta. Simmer until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle 1-1/2 cups into a bowl and top with Romano Cheese.
Serves 9

*Use more broth if you want yours to be more ”soupy”. I like hearty soups that stick to your ribs, so this one is on the thick side.