I don’t cook a lot but the quickest and fairly healthy soup I make is a red lentil soup from the Kitchn site. It’s nice after a period of serious gorging but still craving something that fills you and gives you comfort during the winter months! You can mix it up a bit with whatever herbs you have, and you can use broth, bouillon cube or water. Sometimes I add a few potatoes and always a bit of kale or spinach. Most important is the hit of lemon juice (or even apple cider vinegar if you don’t have lemons) as the acid makes it an entirely different soup at the end. This is super easy and I cut up the base veggies the night before so I literally just throw it into the pot the next day.

Original Recipe: https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-red-lentil-soup-recipes-from-the-kitchn-212392

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 2 large stalks celery, diced
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
• 1 cup dried red lentils
• 4 cups water or low-sodium broth
• 1 whole bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1/2 large lemon)
• For serving: Olive oil, yogurt, or other topping (optional)

Instructions:

1. Heat the olive oil. In a medium (2- to 3-quart) saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the carrot, celery, onion, and salt and stir to combine. Cover and let the vegetables sweat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the lentils, water or broth, and bay leaf and bring up to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and let simmer, covered, until the lentils begin to fall apart, about 20 minutes.
3. Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Taste and season with salt as needed. Ladle into bowls and serve with toppings if desired.

Recipe Notes:

Storage: Leftovers will keep refrigerated for 5 days.

More topping options: To perk up the soup just before serving, top it with a drizzle of peppery olive oil, a dollop of plain yogurt, a sprinkle of sumac, or a spoonful of gremolata.

Recipe variations: This recipe is pared down to just the basics — you can certainly add a teaspoon of garam masala, Italian herbs, or any other seasoning blend to spice things up a bit if you like. Just add the spices in along with the lentils and broth.