Welcome back to another Soup Day! One of my favorite things about winter? A weekly soup + sour dough night. Give me a hearty soup any day of the week. This week we went with a hearty and flavorful lentil soup, slow cooked all day in my beloved slow cooker. The pay off for peeling and dicing in the morning is well worth the pay-off 8 hours later. I hope you enjoy this soup as much as I do!
SOUP DAY: WEEK 2 | Slow Cooked Lentil Soup
Everything in here is a really great winter seasonal ingredient, the splash of lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, and parsley at the end of the cooking process really takes this soup to the next level. It would also be fine without it, but trust me, you won’t want to skip it!
Slow Cooked Lentil Soup
Equipment
- Slow cooker
- immersion blender
Ingredients
For the slow-cooker
- 2 cups butternut squash, peeled & diced
- 2-3 russet potatoes, diced
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
- 3-4 carrots, peeled and diced
- 4-5 stalks celery, diced
- 3-5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1½ cups green lentils
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon herbs de Provence or just throw in some of the following: marjoram, thyme, basil, rosemary, sage, ground fennel, and lavender.
- kosher salt to taste
Add in at the end
- 2-3 cups kale or spinach
- 1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in the slow-cooker and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 7-8 hours.
- Add in the olive oil, and using an immersion blender, blend about half the soup until it's nice and pureed.
- Stir in the kale or spinach, season to taste, adjust seasonings. Add in lemon juice, and fresh parsley. Serve with crusty bread and a bit of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.