Lentil Soup 4 The Soul

a story & recipe

It’s an unusually sunny January day at Ocean Beach. Despite the warm sun heating up my face and my thick hooded wetsuit, a deep shiver runs down my body from the raw air and ice cold water. Satisfied with my four-wave-two-hour session – a shameful wave count elsewhere but a personal accomplishment at OB – I paddle to catch a little one in. By the time I sink my feet into the cold sand, my toes and fingers are both white as bone and completely numb. The back of my sinus stings from icy water that got trapped there during duck dives. I jog back to my car on Judah, eager to get my feet into my wool socks and swaddle myself in a warm sweater. After changing, my stomach rumbles and I realize I hadn’t eaten anything all morning. Time to treat myself to a little pastry from my new favorite bakery – Day Moon. When I arrive at Day Moon, a different menu item catches my eye: French Lentil Soup with Warm Sourdough. After I ordered my soup, I found a seat at a wooden bench amidst a crowd of bikers in lycra clacking around in their cleated shoes and new moms rocking their babies in high-tech strollers.

“Julia?”

My soup arrives in a cream-colored bowl with a dark blue rim, neatly set on a parchment-lined quarter sheet pan. Steam curls from the broth. A thick slice of warm sesame sourdough sits on the side, a smear of yellow salted butter nestled in the corner. The first spoonful is too hot to sip, so I sop up the broth with a piece of butter-coated bread. It’s tasty. When the soup cools a bit, I take my first sip. The rich, hot broth warms my insides. I’m coming back to life. Vibrant green ribbons of recently wilted chard and spinach float in the broth, which was bright from lemon and aromatic from herbs. Finely diced onion, carrot, celery—maybe fennel?—meld together so that every spoonful holds a delightful array of vegetables. The lentils are creamy, meaty, far from mushy. As I eat, the lingering chill of Ocean Beach melts away, replaced by a deep warmth.

My experience being revived by a simple bowl of steamy lentil soup reminded me of the power of lentil soup. The soup is humble with inexpensive yet nutritient-rich ingredients. You almost always have what you need on hand. But lentil soup carries meaning beyond its sustenance, often eaten on New Year's Eve in parts of Europe, the tiny lentils resemble coins, representing luck and prosperity. Beyond tradition, lentil soup is a universal comfort. Shortly after my meal at Ocean Beach, the devastating LA wildfire struck, and one of my favorite restaurants in Ojai, Rory’s Place, posted on Instagram that they were offering free bowls of lentil soup to those affected. A simple bowl of soup is a gesture of hope, a reminder that comfort need not be extravagant.

Hence, why I have dreamed up a little lentil soup recipe. For all those out there that are die hard for a very thick blended lentil soup, sorry to disappoint - this isn’t your soup! Truly, this soup is an ode to the Day Moon lentil soup. Eating it alongside a piece of fresh bread with french salted butter is not required but is highly suggested. I made this soup four times. Yes, that is a lot of lentil soup for one single girl. But, I think I nailed it. And I hope you do too.

There are some things that are non-negotiables - parsley, brown or green lentils, broth, tomatoes, lemon. And others that I would encourage you to experiment with to find your perfect bowl of soup. Measurement need not be exact.

Ingredients

For the soup:

Extra-virgin olive oil generous glug

Yellow onion 1 small dice

Celery 2 ribs small dice

Fennel bulb 1/2 bulb small dice

Carrots 2 small dice

Salt and Pepper a generous amount

Garlic 2 cloves finely minced

Yellow baby golden potatoes 5-10 small dice

Cumin 1 tsp

Red pepper flakes 1/4 tsp

Bouquet garni (1 sprig rosemary, 2 sprigs thyme, 1 bay leaf)

High quality broth (chicken or vegetable) 4 cups

Water 2 cups plus more if needed

Diced tomatoes 1 17-oz can

French Green or Brown Lentils 1 cup washed and picked through, preferably Lentils du Puy

For finishing:

Lemon 1 - 2

Parm grated to taste plus a parm rind for the soup if you have one

Parlsey 1/2 bunch picked not chopped

Leafy greens 1 bunch (chard, spinach, and kale all work well)

Balsamic vinegar to drizzle (optional)

1. In a large dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-low heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion, celery, fennel, and carrots and sweat down until tender, 5 - 8 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the garlic and potatoes and stir, ensuring the potatoes are coated in oil. Cook until the garlic is fragrant, 2 - 3 minutes. Add the cumin, red pepper flakes, and bouquet garni, stir and cook for 2 - 3 more minutes.

2. Add the broth, water, tomatoes, 1.5 tsp kosher salt, and a parm rind if you have one. Increase the heat to high and stir to combine. Let the soup come to a bubble. Add the lentils. Turn the heat down to low and cover the pot. Cook for ~25-30 minutes, until the lentils are tender but not mushy. Check the amount of liquid halfway through cooking and add more water if need - you want a lentil soup, not a lentil stew!

3. Remove about 1/4 of the soup from the pot and add to a blender. Blend until fully liquified / combined. Add the blended soup back to the pot. Your broth should be just slightly thicker than before and certainly not dal-like. Season to your preference.

4. When ready to serve, add in leafy greens, lemon juice, and grated parm. Top with parsley and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Serve with warm bread and butter.

Tip: if making this soup to have over the course of multiple days, I recommend adding the greens when you are reheating the soup.