Lentil Minestrone

Name: Lentil Minestrone
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil , plus extra virgin to finish; 2 cups finely chopped onion; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; ¼ cup chopped parsley; 4 garlic cloves, chopped; 3 carrots , diced; 1 cup diced celery or celery root; Salt and freshly milled pepper; 1 cup French green lentils, sorted and rinsed; Aromatics: 2 bay leaves , 8 parsley branches, 6 thyme sprigs; 9 cups water or Basic Vegetable Stock; Mushroom soy sauce to taste; 1 bunch greens—mustard, broccoli rabe , chard, or spinach; 2 cups cooked small pasta—shells, orecchiette , or other favorite shape; Thin shavings of Parmesan, preferably Parmigiano - Reggiano

Chef

Deborah Madison

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Cookbook

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

Published by Broadway

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This image courtesy of Joseph DeLeo

This is one of my alltime favorite soups. It’s better when cooked ahead of time, but add the cooked pasta and greens just before serving so that they retain their color and texture.

4 to 6 servings

CostInexpensive

Total Timeunder 1 hour

Make Ahead RecipeYes

Kid FriendlyYes

One Pot MealYes

OccasionFamily Get-together, game day

Recipe Courseappetizer, main course

Dietary Considerationhealthy

Five Ingredients or LessYes

Mealdinner, lunch

Moodblue

Taste and Texturesavory, umami

Type of Dishhot soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra virgin to finish
2 cups finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons tomato paste
¼ cup chopped parsley
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3 carrots, diced
1 cup diced celery or celery root
Salt and freshly milled pepper
1 cup French green lentils, sorted and rinsed
Aromatics: 2 bay leaves, 8 parsley branches, 6 thyme sprigs
9 cups water or Basic Vegetable Stock
Mushroom soy sauce to taste
1 bunch greens—mustard, broccoli rabe, chard, or spinach
2 cups cooked small pasta—shells, orecchiette, or other favorite shape
Thin shavings of Parmesan, preferably Parmigiano- Reggiano

Instructions

Heat the oil in a wide soup pot with the onion. Sauté over high heat, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste, parsley, garlic, vegetables, and 2 teaspoons salt and cook 3 minutes more. Add the lentils, aromatics, and water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes. Taste for salt and season with pepper. If it needs more depth, add mushroom soy sauce to taste, starting with 1 tablespoon. (The soup may seem bland at this point, but the flavors will come together when the soup is finished.) Remove the aromatics.
Boil the greens in salted water until they’re tender and bright green, then chop them coarsely. Just before serving, add the greens and the pasta to the soup and heat through. Serve with extra virgin olive oil drizzled into each bowl, a generous grind of pepper, and the Parmesan.