Warm and hearty.
I grew up with mum frequently making soup for dinner. For others, I know that soup is a starter but we had it often as our main meal. It’s something I have carried over into my own family on a regular basis. A big bowl of heart-warming, nourishing goodness that’s perfect during the colder months of the year. Soups are delicious with a slice of crusty bread that you can dunk to mop up the yummy goodness. Some soups we had were made with broth. Others that mum made were thicker and more substantial like this Lentil Soup.
For my parents, soups were a big part of the cuisine in Czechoslovakia where both she and dad grew up. A lot of soups they had while growing up were made without meat as this was hard for many to afford. We’re lucky these days to have the choice on whether a soup is to include meat or not.
Mum was and still is a great cook. She made all sorts of soups when I lived at home. Lots that I loved and a few that I really wasn’t a fan of, namely cabbage soup. The thought of cabbage soup still makes me shudder in horror. But my dad was a big fan of this type of soup so I had to eat this also. Never fear… I won’t subject my kids to that sort of unkind torture!
One of my favourite soups that mum made was was Lentil Soup. There are so many different lentil soup recipes out there which I’m keen to try one day. However, this is just so good that I haven’t yet deviated from this tried and true recipe. Only a few ingredients and you’ve got a hearty meal for the whole family. Serve with warm crusty fresh bread and the whole family will be full of smiles.
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Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 cups brown lentils
- 8 cups beef stock
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, add butter and diced onion. Saute on medium high heat until onion is opaque but not brown.
- Add lentils, beef stock and crushed garlic. Simmer on medium-low heat for 25 minutes or until the lentils are tender.
- To make the roux... in a small saucepan, add the butter and melt on medium-high heat. Add the flour and mix to combine. Continue to cook until you obtain a dark blonde colour. Cool down.
- While the soup is simmering on medium-low heat, add the roux to the soup and stir vigorously until thickened. Serve.
Notes
- If you want a more pronounced beef flavour in this soup, add an extra teaspoon or two of beef stock powder.
- This recipe uses a roux to thicken the soup and is a mixture of fat and flour. It is the recommended method for thickening sauces and soups as it does not separate. A roux is comprised of, by weight, 50% flour and 50% butter.
- If you want to add more vegetables into the soup you can. Carrots would work best in this recipe. Just dice them up and add into the soup when cooking the lentils so the flavour also goes into the broth.