black lentil soup

What is more satisfying than a lentil soup on a cold afternoon. Along with some fresh bread, a nice salad and you have a very satisfying and delightful meal. Recently i have been exploring the catalog of heirloom beans from Rancho Gordo farms. The black lentils are incredible! Nice texture and a flavor with far more depth than lentils we are used to.
This takes very litle effort to make yet the results are enormous.

1 cup black lentils, soaked overnight
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 leek, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
6 cups stock
3 tbsp lemon juice

Soak lentils, drain and rinse. Place in a pot with 3 cups water and cook for 2 minutes, Remove from heat and drain.

In a separate pot, bring olive oil to medium heat and add leeks, onions and salt. Sautee for 10 minutes or starts to caramelize. Add celery, carrot, thyme and oregano and sautee 5 more minutes.  Add stock and lentils and bring to simmer. Lower heat, cover and cook a few minutes, if needed, till lentils are desired softness. Do not overcook and let the lentils go to mush as you want to retain their integrity and thus their delightful texture.
finish with the black pepper, fresh herbs and lemon juice