Aunt Bees Lentil Soup Food

THE BEST LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottom pot over medium-high heat. Add the carrot, onion, celery and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are starting to caramelize and take on a dark brown color, 8 to 10 minutes (this step is important as it will add tons of flavor to your soup!).
• Stir in the tomato paste and garlic and cook, scraping up the brown bits, until the garlic is fragrant and slightly softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add in the lentils, stock, 4 cups water, thyme, bay leaf, oregano, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, 2 teaspoons salt and a generous amount of black pepper and stir to combine. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook until the lentils are softened with just a bit of bite, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Remove the bay leaf. Puree 2 1/2 cups of the soup in a blender until smooth then stir back into the pot. Stir in the lemon juice and parsley. Ladle into bowls and garnish with more parsley.

AUNTIE'S GREEN BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• For the ham starter: Trim meat off the bone. Place meat and bone in a pressure cooker and cover with water. Pressure cook for 45 minutes. Release pressure, then clean and chop meat and strain broth. This can be divided into 4 portions of starter. Freeze 3 of the portions for future use and set the remaining portion aside.
• For the glace: Put flour and salt in food processor. While it's running, stream in the eggs. Mix thoroughly. Put bench flour on a table, then dump dough out and knead to combine. Let rest 20 minutes. Flour table again and roll to about 1/4-inch thick, then cut into small squares with a pizza cutter. Make sure there's enough flour so the dumplings don't stick together. Rough them up in your hands to make them rustic looking. Put into a dry strainer and shake off excess flour.
• For the soup: Combine the reserved ham starter, ham base, green beans and their juice and potatoes in a pot. Add water to fill about three-quarters of the way. Bring it all to a boil. Add the glace directly to the pot and cook until they float.
• Combine the evaporated milk, sour cream and heavy cream in a separate bowl. Add some hot broth and whisk until completely smooth. Add the tempered cream mixture to the soup. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Let simmer together for 45 minutes.

LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the stock in a large pan and add the lentils. Bring to the boil and allow the lentils to soften for a few minutes.
• Add the carrots and leeks and season (don't add salt if you use ham stock as it will make it too salty). Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 45-60 mins until the lentils have broken down. Scatter over the parsley and serve with buttered bread, if you like.