Pink Princess Lentil Soup

Time for another soup recipe! I had a ton of vegetables about to go bad from my rare car-ride grocery trip (my usual ride, a Honda Elite scooter, only has a measly basket). SO, soup is always the way to go when you need to empty out that fridge.

I call this one Pink Princess Lentil soup because the beet makes it pink, and also makes it just a little sweet, which is uncommon for a lentil soup. Enjoy!


Ingredients

3-4 14.5 oz cans vegetable stock (I only had 3, but 4 is better)
1 1/2 c red split lentils, rinsed
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
handful fresh green beans, chopped
1/4 head of cabbage, chopped in 1x2 in. strips
1/2 jalapeño
2 ears corn
olive oil
1 large knob onion (or medium white onion), diced
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 medium beet, shredded
2 tomatoes (totally optional), diced
2-3 cups water (or the 4th can of vegetable stock)
cumin
thyme
basil
2-3 bay leaves
chili powder
salt
pepper


Instructions

1. Combine broth, lentils, carrots, celery, green beans, jalapeño, and cabbage in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low. Add chili powder (start with 1/2 tsp, add more later if you need the spice).

2. Bring second pot of water to a boil (enough to easily cover 2 ears corn). Add ears of corn and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, dump water, and run cold water over corn. When cool, cut off kernels with a large knife and add to lentil mixture. You can totally use a can of corn here. But it won't be as awesome/crispy/fresh.

3. Heat olive oil in a separate skillet, then add onions. Turn heat to medium-low and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes, or until soft and translucent (careful not to burn!). Add red peppers, cook another 2-3 minutes, then add chopped garlic. Cook only 1 minute longer, or until garlic is fragrant, being careful the garlic does not burn.

4. Add onion mixture to large pot, and add additional water or broth if necessary. Shred beet into pot. Add thyme, basil, cumin (I accidentally spilled too much cumin into pot and it was great, so don't be shy), salt and pepper. Add any leftover tomatoes you wanna get rid of. They blend right in.

5. Cook on medium-low to low, stirring occasionally, until veggies are soft and lentils start to break down. Total from step one, about 35 minutes, probably. I had "a little spot of wine" while making this, so time flew right by.

Garnish with Havarti cheese, greek yogurt, sour cream, cilantro, or anything else you like in your soup! Try something new!