CookEat Recipe
Lentil Soup with Toasted Bread
Lentils and their broth flavoured with an olive-oil soffritto and tomato, served over toasted bread.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 250 g dried brown or green lentils; About 1.75 litres water, with extra hot water if needed; Quarter of an onion; 1 garlic clove; 1 tablespoon chopped parsley; 1 large pale celery stalk; 3 tablespoons olive oil; Salt and black pepper to taste; 2 tablespoons plain tomato passata, or 1 teaspoon tomato paste; 200 g day-old bread.
Step 2
Pick over and rinse the lentils. Cover with the water, bring to a boil and simmer until fully tender, about 25–40 minutes depending on variety. Keep their cooking liquid.
Step 3
Finely chop the onion, garlic, parsley and celery. Cook in the olive oil until the mixture begins to colour and season with pepper. Add about 250 ml lentil cooking liquid and the tomato, bring to a boil, then return this seasoning to the lentils.
Step 4
Simmer together for about 10 minutes, adjusting salt and adding hot water if needed for a brothy soup. For a smoother version, press some or all of the cooked lentils through a sieve into their broth.
Step 5
Toast the bread in slices about 1.5 cm thick and cut into cubes. Put in bowls or a tureen and pour the hot lentil soup over it.
Step 6
For the rice alternative, replace the serving bread with about 200 g rice. Cook the lentils first, then strain and reserve their broth and press the lentils through a sieve. Prepare the same soffritto and tomato seasoning. Keep the seasoned broth loose, adding hot water to about 1.75 litres, and cook the rice in it until tender. Only then add as much sieved lentil purée as needed to reach the desired soup consistency; do not automatically use it all if the soup becomes too thick.
Step 7
The rice soup can also use black-eyed-pea broth. Replace the lentils with about 250 g dried black-eyed peas, soak in cold water in the refrigerator for at least 5 hours, drain and rinse, then boil in fresh water and cook until tender according to the package. Use their strained broth and sieved purée in the same sequence, adding purée after the rice is cooked. Allow additional soaking and cooking time.
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