The Serenity of Soup

Soup has healing qualities. When we are young, we are given soup to warm our bellies on a cold Winter's day or to chase away that early Spring cold.

I was reminded of the healing qualities of soup this week while away on a writing retreat in a small seaside town in New England. The house I stayed in was largely isolated: lonely woods on three sides opening out into the ocean at the backdoor. It was a rare opportunity to spend some quiet time with the things I love, writing, soup, and relaxation.

I made this soup while my writing partner was working away on a project. Just me in the kitchen with my food and my thoughts. As I constructed it, everything washed away and it was just me and the present moment. Suddenly, there was perspective and a viable way to reach for moments of calm in an otherwise hectic day-to-day life.

Lentils are also good luck for the new year (so says my friend, fellow soup-goddess, and soon-to-be guest blogger, Cat Boleyn) so the combination made for an evening constructing serenity followed by just about the best comfort soup you could possible imagine.

Here's my version of Serenity-Now Lucky Lentil Stew:

Ingredients:
1lb of brown lentils (I find them a bit heartier than red or orange or green lentils)
3 carrots (I like the thin, organic ones but any thickness will do)
4-5 small Yukon Gold potatoes (more or less depending on how stewy you want it)
2 cups vegetable broth (Rapunzel is my fav; warm 1 cube in 2 cups water in micro and be sure it dissolves pretty evenly and then set aside for later)
1 large yellow onion

Eyeballing it:
sea salt (probably 2 small palmfuls, to taste)
1 bay leaf'( I always scoffed at the bay leaf but have come to learn that it actually adds a whole lot of flavor)
1 small palmful of dried thyme (I swear by Penzey's french thyme)
3-4 cloves of chopped garlic (more or less depending on how much you <3 garlic)
ground cumin (up to 2 large, or flattened palmfuls, depending on taste, added SLOWLY)
freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
butter (yes, both.)
1 small palmful of dried cilantro
1 large palmful dried parsley
lemon juice (2-3 Tbs, to taste)

A note on my "hand" measurements: I have pretty small hands. So what I mean by palmful is a general way to figure out how NOT to drag out those hard-to-find measuring spoons all the time. From experience I know that if I cover the bowl of my palm or fill the bottom of my cupped palm it's about a teaspoon. If I hold my hand flat and cover my palm, it's about a tablespoon. Experiment and see what works for you. And don't be afraid to get your hands spicy!

1) Get a large pot (12 quarts is ideal as this soup serves about 12 servings) add 10 cups of water and a few small palmfuls of sea salt.
2) Rinse lentils in warm water (I find a strainer works really well for this) and add to pot with a bit of butter (I add butter in lieu of EVOO periodically to any lentil recipe because butter flavors lentils in a way that EVOO just doesn't, making them fuller and warmer on your tongue).
3) Wash and dice the carrots and potatoes medium fine and add to the pot with the thyme and the bay leaf.
4) Bring soup to a boil and simmer loosely covered.
5) While the lucky lentils simmer, dice the large onion and put half into the simmering soup and saute the other half in a medium-hot skillet with EVOO until soft. Add finely chopped garlic and when you smell it, add all to the soup pot.

Now, it's time to season! Add the ground cumin (in small batches, tasting between so as to not overwhelm the pot), the lemon juice (again, to taste), black pepper, veggie broth,  other herbs and a good tsp or two of butter.

Now you're done! Garnish each dish with a few tablespoons of Fage Greek Yogurt!

Doesn't it look yummy?

It's even BETTER the day after. After sitting in the fridge and soaking up the flavors overnight, you'll think you died and went to soup heaven.


Please note that this recipe was adapted from an old lentil recipe a college friend, Lesley Pfennig, taught me, Mollie Katzen's tips in The Enchanted Broccoli Forest and Anna Thomas' Love Soup.