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Lentil Soup, Italian III (D/P, TNT)
Source: Fiddlehead Cookbook
Serves: 8

1 cup lentils
Olive oil, for sautéing
3/4 cup onion, diced
3/4 cup celery, diced
1 clove garlic, minced, or more
6 cups vegetable stock or water
14 ounces tomatoes, canned, diced or crushed
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
Salt, to taste
Ground pepper to taste
A couple of drops of hot pepper sauce
1 cup garbanzo beans (chickpeas), cooked (optional)

Heat olive oil in a large pot then sauté onion, celery, and garlic until softened and aromatic, but not browned.

Add stock, tomatoes, and all seasonings except salt. Add lentils to soup. Bring to a boil then cover pot and reduce heat to a simmer.

Cook for 1 to 1-1/2 hours until lentils are soft (cooking time varies with age of lentils). Add garbanzos/chickpeas if you like. Add salt and pepper, and correct seasonings to taste.

It's good with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top as a garnish.

Poster's Notes:
This is a very satisfying cold-weather soup. I used 3 tablespoons of toasted dried minced onion instead of the fresh, and didn't sauté the celery and garlic (just added them raw). I also added two diced carrots and a teaspoon of parsley flakes and didn't use any hot pepper sauce. I was going to add the chickpeas, but the soup was quite thick without them, so I decided not to. For the liquid, I used 6 teaspoons of vegetarian bouillon powder with 6 cups of water.

Posted by Annice Grinberg, Z'L

Nutritional Info Per Serving: 255 Calories; 4g Fat (13.0% calories from fat); 14g Protein; 43g Carbohydrate; 12g Dietary Fiber; 2mg Cholesterol; 1315mg Sodium
Exchanges: 2-1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates