Creamed Lentil Soup with Celery

By Hklbrries

This is a robust cold-weather soup. The celery makes a fresh contrast to the rich lentils. Use plenty of the light green leaves for garnish.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups brown or green French lentils
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 large leek, white part only, cleaned well and chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 2 garlic cloves, mashed
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 7 cups water or vegetable stock
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp strong red wine vinegar
• Additional vegetable stock or water, as needed
• Freshly cracked pepper
• Chopped celery leaves
• 1/2 cup toasted croutons

Preparation

Step 1

Sort through the lentils and rinse them well. Combine the lentils, onion, leek, celery, garlic, herbs, salt, and water or vegetable stock in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, partially covered, until the lentils are completely tender, about 45 minutes. Stir the soup occasionally.

When done, cool the soup a bit, puree it in a blender (this will have to be done in batches), then pass the puree through a food mill to remove the lentil skins. Return to the heat and stir in the mustard and vinegar. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Stir in additional stock or water to thin the soup, if needed. Serve garnished with pepper, celery leaves, and croutons.

Nutrition Information:
Per (1 1/2 cup) serving
115 calories
.9 g fat
0 mg cholesterol
675.5 mg sodium