A Hearty bowl of comfort-Lentil Soup

-->

I  am a soup person. I never used to be, but at some point in my life, I had a total “a-ha!” moment. I realized a few things. First, soup is delicious. Second, soup is a whole, nutritious meal in a single bowl. Third, soup is a hearty bowl of comfort on a cold day. Fourth, soup is the perfect vehicle for getting warm, flaky, buttery bread to your mouth and is therefore the perfect excuse for buying said bread. Now, I spend all winter making and eating different soups. I have a particular weakness for lentil soup. I have yet to meet a lentil soup I didn’t like. The best thing about lentil soup is that it is a great starting point for all sorts of flavour combinations. Greek lentil soup? Done. Moroccan lentil soup? The best. Coconut than curry lentil soup? Obviously. I have made just about every kind of lentil soup there is. Or, at least I thought I had. And then I went to Naji’s. Naji’s is my favourite restaurant in Ottawa. If you are in Ottawa right now, what are you waiting for? Get yourself to Naji’s! It is a delightful Lebanese restaurant that serves, you guessed it, amazing lentil soup. After trying the soup, I set out on a mission to re-create the soup at home. I would order the soup, go home, and scrawl some notes. I have finally reached a version that is very, very close and I just had to share it with you. 

 

-->

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 Tbsp olive oil

½ large onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup red lentils, sorted through for bits of pebbles and rinsed thoroughly

½ cup Arborio (or other short to medium grain) rice

1 scant Tbsp za’atar (*see note below)

7 cups vegetable broth

Generous pinches salt and pepper

Juice of ½ lemon

  Directions:

(1) Melt butter and oil in large saucepot over medium heat. Add onion and cook stirring for 5 minutes until very soft but not browned. Add garlic and cook stirring until fragrant, 1 minute.

(2) Add lentils and rice to pot and stir well to coat. Stir in za’atar.

(3) Add broth and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 25 – 30 minutes until lentils are very soft and falling apart. Soup will thicken as it cooks, so if you like a thicker soup, cook for a few minutes longer.

(4) In last 5 minutes of cooking, add lemon juice and continue to simmer covered.

(5) Serve with pita, pita chips or naan bread.  This would also be really good with a swirl of plain Greek yogurt drizzled over top.

*Note – za’atar is a Middle Eastern spice blend. I found it at a great bulk store, but you may be able to find it in a well-stocked grocery store. You can also make it yourself at home – Bon Appetit and Fine Cooking online both have recipes for homemade za’atar. Use up leftover za’atar by making pita chips with it, sprinkling it over roasted eggplant, or using it as a topping for flatbread.