Tomato-Basil Garden Soup
What started out as a way to make use of summertime tomato and basil became an exercise in finding out just how useful ground-up lentils can be. (Ground-up dried beans would be equally useful, but lentils are a lot thinner and therefore easier to grind in a coffee or spice grinder.) I like lentils in all forms — red and brown, in soup or pilafs — so I thought I’d see what would happen if I put a handful through my grinder.
Turns out that adding ground lentils to soup is an excellent way to thicken it while making it more hearty and stew-ish … and you wind up with a more protein-rich dish. Besides, since lentils only take 20 minutes to cook under normal, whole-lentil conditions (red lentils have already had their outer layer removed and are ready in as few as 5 minutes), ground lentils cook through in about 3 minutes, making them an easy thickener to throw in at the last minute. Another plus: their flavor is non-assertive enough to allow them to blend into the background rather than commandeer the culinary direction of the soup.
So, the next time your soup or stew is looking too thin for your taste, lentil it! You could even add ground lentils to lentil soup to make it more hearty.
Tomato-Basil Garden Soup with Lentils
Serves 2 for a hearty lunch.
10-12 Roma tomatoes
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups vegetable stock
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 tsp. sea salt (or to taste)
1/4 cup ground red lentils (buzz them through a coffee grinder for 10 seconds or until the majority are coarsely ground)
Fill a large mixing bowl with cold water and set aside, then bring a large pot of water to boil. Gently slide tomatoes into the boiling water. Boil for 10-20 seconds, then lift tomatoes out of the hot water with tongs (you don’t want them to sploosh back into the water and splat boiling-hot water at you!) and slide them into the bowl of cold water. When they’re cool enough to handle, peel off the skins — after their brief blanching, the skins should come off very easily. Discard the skins, chop the tomatoes, and set aside. (If the seeds bother you, you can cut the tomatoes in half, run your fingers along the center to dislodge the seeds, and then finish chopping the now-seedless tomatoes. Personally, I’d rather keep the seeds and all the juiciness they contain.)
In a good-sized stockpot or soup pot over medium heat, sautée the onion in a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil for 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute or until onions and garlic start to soften and turn a very slight golden brown. Add the vegetable stock, the reserved skinless and chopped tomatoes, the basil, the thyme, and the salt. Stir well and reduce heat to low. Let simmer for 15 minutes, then add the lentils and simmer for another 5 minutes.
A sprig of fresh basil would make a nice garnish, as would croutons and/or some grated Parmesan (or other aged Italian cheese). You could also use 1 cup of stock rather than 2 and serve this as a chunky marinara sauce over pasta or chicken. The soup freezes well, too, so if you’re looking for a way to preserve your summer tomatoes and basil for those cold winter months, this is the way to do it!
Enjoy!
Print This Post
Tags: basil, lentils, marinara sauce, soup, summertime dish, tomatoes
