Sunday's Soup

Happy Sunday Everyone! I'm a little early with the soup because I actually made it for last night's supper. My husband took the first bite and said, "mmm, this is good!" I think that's a pretty good endorsement :) This is another soup from the Panera Bread recipe file. You can find it here,  https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/recipes/tomato-lentil-soup.html They just listed a new soup, Mushroom Bisque. I think I'll give that one a try next week!

Tomato Lentil Soup

The ingredients are fairly simple and it's very easy to throw together. The soup has a Mediterranean flair to it. The balsamic vinegar is a very welcome addition.

The recipe calls for crimini mushrooms. I didn't have time to look for them, so I used baby portabella mushrooms and I sliced them rather than quarter them like the recipe directs. My container was 8 oz rather than the 6 oz listed in the ingredients, but I used the entire container anyway. Who saves 2 oz of mushrooms?!!!

Ingredients

Serves 4

2 teaspoons olive oil 2 carrots, finely chopped 1 large onion, finely chopped 1 rib celery, finely chopped 4 ounces crimini mushrooms, quartered lengthwise 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 can (14.5 ounces) low-sodium diced tomatoes, with juice

3/4 teaspoon dried thyme 2 cups water 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 cup brown lentils, picked over and rinsed 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Directions

Step 1.

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add carrots, onions, and celery, and cook until the vegetables begin to soften, 5 to 6 minutes.

Step 2.

Add the mushrooms and garlic, and cook until the mushrooms begin to release their liquid, about 3 minutes.

Step 3.

Add tomatoes (with juice), thyme, water, salt, pepper, and lentils. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 35 minutes. Stir in the balsamic vinegar.

The recipe makes a rather small pot of soup, so not a lot of leftovers. I'll just have to make more!!
Have a wonderful Sunday!
Rhonda