Saturday, December 19, 2009

Red Lentil and Tomato Soup



Red lentil and tomato soup is one of my husband’s favorite soups. I like to change it a little when I make it and this time I pureed the soup to create a smooth texture and added a little fennel seed for southern Italian flavor. This is a very easy soup that reheats well. It is also filling due to the beans. Here is what I made tonight.

Red Lentil and Tomato Soup
Makes 8 servings of approximately 2 cups each

Ingredients:

1 onion, peeled and diced
2 carrots, scrubbed and diced fine
3 stalks celery, scrubbed and diced fine
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
½ cup water
28 ounces of canned tomato sauce
14 ounces of canned diced tomato
1 pound red lentil, picked through
3 cups of water, or what is necessary to cook the beans and not scorch the soup
1 teaspoon fennel seed
salt and pepper, to taste
reduced fat tofu sour cream, for garnish - optional
2 tablespoons diced fresh zucchini, for garnish - optional

Directions:

Water sauté the onion, carrots, celery and garlic until soft. Add the tomato sauce, diced tomato, red lentils, water, and fennel seed and cook until the lentils are soft (about 30 minutes). You may need to add a little extra water as the soup cooks and the lentils absorb the cooking liquid.

Place the soup in your blender and puree until smooth. I had to do this in three batches in the blender. Return the soup to the cooking pot and keep warm until needed.

Before serving taste the soup for seasonings and add salt and pepper to your taste. Finish the soup with tofu sour cream and a little diced fresh zucchini if using. Serve hot.

Nutritional Information (includes optional ingredients):

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 249.58
Calories From Fat (6%) - 14.76

Total Fat - 1.76g
Saturated Fat - 0.28g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 628.74mg
Potassium - 887.74mg
Total Carbohydrates - 45.25g
Fiber - 9.29g
Sugar - 7.31g
Protein - 16.63g

Nutritional numbers assume ¼ tablespoon of reduced fat tofu sour cream on each serving.

Comments:

Everyone enjoyed this tonight, including my parents (the omnivores), which was surprising. Their diet is so unhealthy (in my opinion) when they are not eating with us I am always amazed when they enjoy my healthy food. The texture of this soup is very smooth and creamy, without the fat.

Each serving of this soup contains approximately 3,875IU of vitamin A, 75mg of calcium, 140mcg of folate, 225mg of phosphorus, 70mg of magnesium, and 5mcg of selenium. Not too bad for a bowl of soup.

Unrelated Notes:

It is still snowing here and it appears that we got 24 inches at our house based on the snow sitting on top the trash cans. The weathermen as so prone to panic here I didn’t believe the storm was going to be this bad. Everything is covered with snow and it looks beautiful outside. It doesn’t look like we will be going anywhere tomorrow and possibly not on Monday either. As it turns out it was good thing we went to Costco on Friday.

My porky seitan experiment worked well today. I will be posting that recipe soon. First I need to see if I took a decent picture of the seitan. If not that recipe may go up tomorrow.

Tonight for dinner we had the porky seitan with agave sweetened BBQ sauce and a green salad with raw cashew dressing with blackberries, blueberries and sliced almonds. It was a reasonably healthy meal that we all enjoyed.

18 comments:

  1. The soup looks really good. It's a great nutrition & fiber to calorie and fat ratio. Your dinner sounds really good too.

    Have fun in the snow!

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  2. This sounds really tasty and unique. I'm not sure I've seen a tomato soup before that also features lentils, love the sound of it. Your vegan sour cream recipe sounds great too!

    Sorry to hear about the snow in, but I'm glad that you are able to stay in and not have to battle it outside! Despite it all, I'm sure that you will be eating well :)

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  3. Rose,

    Thanks! :) We thought it was good.

    Alicia

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  4. Sarah,

    Thanks! :) My hubby loves tomato lentil soup. Sometimes I leave it chunky and other times I make it smooth, depending on my mood.

    The snow is crazy here. We get snow storms like this about twice a decade. It is always a mess when it happens. Oddly it is still snowing now.

    Alicia

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  5. This looks divine! Have you ever made it without fennel seeds?

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  6. Heather,

    I have made it without fennel seeds. You can season it any number of ways. Oregano, thyme or basil all work well if you want to stay Italian. Or you could use Indian seasonings (cumin, coriander, mustard seed and tumeric). I have also made a Spanish inspired version with smoked paprika which I finished with sherry vinegar. The texture of this soup is really nice and thick but the flavors can be almost anything.

    talk to you later,
    Alicia

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  7. What a pretty soup.I love all of the lentils.
    Hope the snow has let up for you. It is beautiful, as long as you don't need to go anywhere!

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  8. Janet,

    Thanks! :) The flourish of tofu sour cream definitely makes a difference in how it looks. This soup was not as photogenic before it got its garnish.

    The snow is gorgeous, but there sure is a lot of it. Sometime today we need to dig out at least one car so my hubby can go to work on Monday. Other than that we aren't going out today.

    Alicia

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  9. This sounds fantastic! I love red lentils and tomato soup...it never occurred to me to put them together! I will be trying this out soon for sure :-)

    Courtney

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  10. Courtney,

    Thanks! :) I think you will like the combination, it is one of my hubby's favorite soups. He could eat it every week, he likes it that much.

    Alicia

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  11. Not only does it sound delicious it's beautiful!

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  12. Looks so yummy!

    Thanks for the anniversary wishes, you're so sweet!! It's nice to know someone else that loves their husband and best friend so much. I still follow mine around like a little lost puppy, all around the country and everything! We've had an awesome life together even though it's only been 5 years. I bet after 22 it's that much better. Congrats to you and your husband for making it 22 years! That really is so awesome.

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  13. Hollafoodzone,

    Thanks! I thought it looked pretty too. One of the best things about this soup is how fast it is. It is also very filling due to the beans.

    Janelle,

    Thanks! :) It is nice to know someone else is married to their best friend. I know you both will be happy for decades to come.

    Alicia

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  14. My hubby loves tomato soup too. And I love the sour cream garnish on it! Hope you're surviving the snow--yikes!

    Have a wonderful holiday!

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  15. Ricki,

    I was playing with tofu sour cream, as you noticed. I love to play with my food.

    We are surviving the snow very well. Luckily we live within easy walking distance to two grocery stores so if we get snowed it, we can still get supplies.

    I hope you have a great holiday too,
    Alicia

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  16. Looks delicious! I'd definitely like to try it.

    Here are some other lentil soup recipes that you may like:

    http://www.vegrecipes4u.com/dals-and-soups.html

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  17. This is a must-try soup! It is so hearty and filling.

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  18. Heather,

    Thanks so much for adding a comment once you made the soup, and for the link on your blog. :) I am so glad you liked it too.

    Alicia

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