Cream of Lentil Soup

This soup is delicious. I tried to take a photo of this on the stove but it did not do it justice in any way so you'll just have to take my word for it. We called it "Brad's Lentil Soup" but due to time constraints this past Sunday, I actually made it (which I thought I'd never do because it seemed too involved) and it was just as good.... and not even "too involved". Whatever that means.

Cream of Lentil Soup

2 Tbsp. Unsalted butter
1 large Spanish onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 leeks, chopped (we really like leeks and so we used most of the white and about 1" of the green)
2 tsp. dried rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
¼ tsp. cayenne
1 lb. French lentils, rinsed and picked over to remove debris
1 28-oz. Can whole tomatoes, drained and diced
7 garlic cloves, peeled
8 c. Basic Vegetable Stock*
3 c. heavy cream
¼ c. chopped chives

(*We use vegetable stock paste – or bouillon)

1. Melt the butter in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and leeks and sweat for 4 minutes, until tender.
2. Add the rosemary, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and cayenne and stir to coat the vegetables.
3. Add the lentils, tomatoes, and stock and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, partially cover, and simmer for 45 minutes, until the lentils are tender.
4. Meanwhile, combine the heavy cream and garlic cloves in a medium saucepan. Simmer for 20 minutes, until the garlic is tender and the cream is reduced by half. Remove the garlic cream from the heat and puree in a food processor or blender until smooth; set aside.
5. When the lentils are tender, stir in the pureed garlic cream. Simmer for 1 minute to heat through.
6. To serve, remove the bay leaves, ladle the soup into bowls, and top with the chopped chives.

Makes 12 cups.
From The Daily Soup Cookbook by Leslie Kaul &Bob Spiegel

One last note: I accidentally added the liquid of the canned tomatoes. I made more of the garlic infused cream - 4c. cream and 10 cloves of garlic - but didn't add all of it. Just enough to make it a nice thick (but not too thick) consistency. Also, it may take forever to reduce the cream so just let it simmer for a while and go for it. So great on cold days!

Printable Recipe.