Red Lentil Hearty Soup

This is a recipe I created (and just tested for lunch) from my experience with a Whole Foods recipe for slow cooking split pea soup. This, by contrast, isn't slow cooked and can be made in less than an hour. It has great flavor, is vegetarian, and seems very comforting on a cold day.

Ingredients

2 tsp olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 ribs celery plus leaves, chopped
1 cup sliced baby carrots
1 (16-oz) package red lentils
Salt and pepper to taste
6 cups chicken broth

Method

In a large (4 quart or larger) pan, gently saute the chopped onion in a small amount of olive oil, add the garlic, celery and carrots.
Add the 6 cups of broth and the package of red lentils.
Add a pinch of salt and some fresh ground pepper.
Put on high heat to bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cover for 25 to 30 minutes or long enough for the red lentils and veggies to soften.
For a smoother texture, partially blend with a submersible blender.

Serves 6 to 8

I had been a big fan of the split pea slow cooker recipe since I got it over a year ago. Recently, I used the exact same recipe with red lentils in place of split peas with great results according the the appreciative and hungry family. This recipe is a fast version without the ham hock. It still has great flavor and could be served to my vegetarian father-in-law.