My lentil soup recipe is basic. I'm sure that you have seen versions of it all over the place. Still, this is how I do mine. I hope you like it. 

A few tweaks: You can substitute cooked bacon rather than use ham hocks. You can also add baby spinach leaf (torn up and with stems removed - then mince it and add it shortly before you add the white beans.)

I like to serve this soup with a dinner roll for those that want to get every last bit of food out of their bowls.

 

---

 

Toni's Basic Lentil Soup

Equipment

• Dutch oven or large stockpot

Ingredients

• 
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 teaspoon fresh
• 1 1/2 cup dried lentils, rinsed and drained
• 3 medium smoked ham hocks 
• 4-6 cups low-sodium chicken broth (reserve 2 cups. I use Simply Organic)
•  
• Optional
• 
  
• 1 15-ounce can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 teaspoons celery leaf, minced 
• 3 teaspoons baby spinach leaf (torn up and with stems removed - then minced)

Instructions

• Add the olive oil to your soup pan or dutch oven.
• Add onion and celery. Season lightly with salt pepper. Cook them until the onion is almost translucent, stirring frequently. It usually takes me 4-5 minutes. Don't let the onion turn brown.
• Push the veg to the sides. Add garlic, gently stirring as it releases its scent. Then add the carrots to the middle of the pan. Stir into the onion mix, then push everything to the sides again, then add carrots to the middle of the pan, and add the thyme and garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, about 45 seconds.
• Add the lentils to the pot and stir everything together. Add the ham hocks and enough broth or water to cover them. Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, occasionally stirring . Reduce heat, cover pot and simmer until lentils are just tender, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Remove ham hocks. They are ready when they soften. Cut the skin off, then chop it. Remove the meat, skipping any tendons, and chop it. Stir the meat and skin into soup, and add the hocks back to the pan where they will continue to flavor the soup. Optional:You can also stir the white kidney beans, adding reserved broth or water if necessary.  

Servings 4-6 

The image above belongs to TastingTable. I encourage you to visit their site. It's awesome. You can get there by clicking the link, or you can click the picture.