Yummy

I made the following soup for supper this evening.  I found the recipe in a Wonder Time magazine I borrowed from the library.  I made a few modifications to use ingredients we had on hand and we ate our soup with popovers (as suggested by the magazine).  Yummm!

Lentil Soup

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1/2 C. crushed tomatoes (or plain tomato sauce or pureed tomatoes)

1/2 tsp. salt

1, 19 oz. can lentils, rinsed and drained

8 C. chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp. dried thyme (or 1 small sprig fresh thyme)

1 C. diced kielbasa (optional)

1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Heat oil in a wide saute pan over medium-low heat.  Saute onion until translucent (about 5 minutes).  Add celery, carrots and garlic.  Saute until vegetables soften a bit (about 5 more minutes).  Then add the tomato sauce, salt, lentils, broth, bay leaf, and thyme.  Stir.

Simmer soup on very low heat, partially covered, for about an hour.  Add the kielbasa, if using, after 45 minutes.  Add water if the soup looks like it's drying out.  When the lentils are nice and creamy, stir in the vinegar, then taste the soup.  Add more vinegar or salt if the flavour needs brightening.