Lentil soup; any suggestions for sprucing it up so it isn't so simple? Which ingredients work best for you?

The flavors transcend the sum of their parts.

Tunisian Tomato Soup with Chickpeas and Lentils

Makes 6 servings (maybe a little more)

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked chickpeas, soaked overnight (or 1 to 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas)

1 cup uncooked lentils (any kind), rinsed and picked over

1 cinnamon stick

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cups minced onion

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon turmeric

11/2 teaspoons cumin seeds

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 to 3 bay leaves

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

black pepper and cayenne to taste

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (or to taste)

Preparation:

Place the soaked, uncooked chickpeas in a large pot and cover with water by 3 inches. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, partially cover and cook for 1 hour. (If you're using canned chickpeas, rinse and drain them and set them aside.)

Add the lentils and cinnamon stick, partially cover again and cook for another 30 minutes, or until the chickpeas and lentils are perfectly tender, but not mushy. (If you're using canned chickpeas, just cook the lentils with the cinnamon stick in 7 cups water until tender-about 30 minutes.)

Remove and discard the cinnamon stick, and drain the legumes, saving the water.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion, garlic, salt, turmeric, cumin seeds, ground cumin and bay leaves and sauté over medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the onions are soft.

Add 6 cups of water (including the reserved cooking water from the lentils) and the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer, partially cover, and cook for another 15 minutes or so. (The timing does not need to be exact.) Fish out and discard the bay leaves.

Stir in the chickpeas and lentils and cook for only about 5 minutes longer, so the legumes won't become mushy. Season to taste with black pepper, cayenne and lemon juice.

Serve hot, topped with some yogurt, a sprinkling of parsley or mint and currants, if desired.

Notes:

Streamline the preparation time by chopping the onions, mincing the garlic and sautéing them with the seasonings while the legumes cook.

Preparation time: About 80 minutes with dried chickpeas; 50 minutes with canned chickpeas (25 minutes of work either way).

I had to eat lentil soup on a diet I was on and tried all kinds of different variations. Some of the better ones:

Crumbled bacon and chives with a dallop of sour cream- sounds wierd tastes good

Chopped up onions, tomatos and smoked turkey, topped with some chedder cheese.

Sauteed onions, mushrooms, and garlic, crumbled up saltine crackers with a slice of swiss cheese melted on top- sorta like french onion soup.

Sliced steak (cheap kind works) with grilled green peppers, corn and chopped up onions.

Or really simple- add frozen mixed veggies, a can of chicken (or leftovers) and cook it all up.

Best tip I can give is no matter what I spruced it up with, lentil soup needs a lot more salt added to it to give it any flavor. Hope you can use some of these!

My (Italian) grandmother makes a delicious lentil soup. She puts frozen cut brocolli and cooked noodles in it about 10 minutes before the lentils are done, just long enough to heat the brocolli through. She also uses lots of garlic and olive oil.

Hope this helps!

Add chunks of smoked pork butt , also called tenderloin or picnic, add black pepper and chopped celery, carrots and onions. This works out very well.

Here are some ideas

Wild Rice and Curried Crimson Lentil Soup

Makes 10 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Minnesota Extra Fancy Wild Rice

2 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 cup onion, diced

1 cup carrot, diced

1 cup celery, diced

1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, chopped

12 ounces Petite Crimson Lentils

2 teaspoons curry powder or to taste

1/4 cup dry sherry

6 cups chicken or vegetable stock

salt and white pepper to taste

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) as garnish

plain yogurt as garnish

sliced scallions as garnish

Preparation:

Cook wild rice according to package directions, drain and set aside.

Heat olive oil in large pot. Stir in onions, carrots, celery and garlic, sauté until onions start to caramelize. Stir in Petite Crimson Lentils and curry powder, then mix well. Deglaze pot with dry sherry (see note below).

Add stock and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes or until lentils begin to dissolve and thicken soup. Adjust flavor with salt and pepper, continue to simmer until lentils have dissolved.

Transfer soup to food processor and process until smooth. Strain soup into clean pot. Stir in heavy whipping cream and bring back to a simmer. Stir in wild rice and heat through. Garnish soup with roasted pepitas, a sprinkle of sliced scallions and a tablespoon of yogurt.

Note: To deglaze is to swirl or stir liquid or dry sherry in the bottom of the pan to dissolve cooked food particles remaining on the bottom.

Lamb, Lentil, and Rosemary Soup

Ingredients

(6 servings)

2 tb Olive oil

1 tb Butter

3 cl Garlic, minced

2 Onions, chopped

2 Carrots, cut into small

Cubes

1 ts Salt

1 ts Pepper

6 c Lamb stock

2 c Chopped very ripe tomatoes

Or canned tomatoes

1 Bay leaf

1 Bone from a roast leg of

Lamb

1 c Cubed cooked lamb

Tabasco or other liquid hot

Pepper sauce

Instructions

1. In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil and butter over moderately low heat. Add the garlic, onions, carrots, half the rosemary, the thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer, Add the lamb stock, tomatoes, lentils, bay leaf, and the lamb bone from the roast if you still have it and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for about 40 to 50 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. Taste for seasoning.

2. To serve, place a small handful of cooked lamb in the bottom of each soup bowl and ladle the hot soup over it. Garnish with the remaining fresh rosemary. Serve with a bottle of Tabasco on the side.

Serves 4 to 6.

Tunisian Tomato Soup with Chickpeas and Lentils

It seems like an ordinary list of ingredients, but when they are combined in this very satisfying soup, the flavors transcend the sum of their parts.

Makes 6 servings (maybe a little more)

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked chickpeas, soaked overnight (or 1 to 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas)

1 cup uncooked lentils (any kind), rinsed and picked over

1 cinnamon stick

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cups minced onion

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon turmeric

11/2 teaspoons cumin seeds

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 to 3 bay leaves

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

black pepper and cayenne to taste

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (or to taste)

Optional Toppings:

Yogurt

Minced fresh parsley or mint

A few currants

Preparation:

Place the soaked, uncooked chickpeas in a large pot and cover with water by 3 inches. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, partially cover and cook for 1 hour. (If you're using canned chickpeas, rinse and drain them and set them aside.)

Add the lentils and cinnamon stick, partially cover again and cook for another 30 minutes, or until the chickpeas and lentils are perfectly tender, but not mushy. (If you're using canned chickpeas, just cook the lentils with the cinnamon stick in 7 cups water until tender-about 30 minutes.)

Remove and discard the cinnamon stick, and drain the legumes, saving the water.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion, garlic, salt, turmeric, cumin seeds, ground cumin and bay leaves and sauté over medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the onions are soft.

Add 6 cups of water (including the reserved cooking water from the lentils) and the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer, partially cover, and cook for another 15 minutes or so. (The timing does not need to be exact.) Fish out and discard the bay leaves.

Stir in the chickpeas and lentils and cook for only about 5 minutes longer, so the legumes won't become mushy. Season to taste with black pepper, cayenne and lemon juice.

Serve hot, topped with some yogurt, a sprinkling of parsley or mint and currants, if desired.

Notes:

Streamline the preparation time by chopping the onions, mincing the garlic and sautéing them with the seasonings while the legumes cook.

This soup freezes well if stored in an airtight container.