Broccoli Lentil Soup

On Saturday it seemed like everyone in my neck of the woods was freaking out because the temperature had dropped. It was rainy and windy out. A few snowflakes fell and I was alternately pelted by raindrops and ice pellets on my morning run.

It took me a few hours to warm up despite coffee, a hot shower and a comfy blanket in addition to my sweats and fuzzy socks. 

While I shivered and watched the rain fall, I was inspired to whip up something warm and healthy for lunch. Something that would ideally make me a few lunches for the week as well. 

What was in the fridge? Broccoli came to mind. Followed immediately by broccoli lentil soup. 

We make a lot of soups during the winter months. They are all delicious and full of flavour. I am NOT a fan of mild-tasting soups. I want flavour and lots of it. That usually involves plenty of ingredients, spices and lots of taste-testing to get it just right.  

Broccoli lentil soup defies all of my hard-earned soup-making logic. 

It takes about ten minutes to prepare, 30 minutes to cook, and requires only mild-tasting ingredients and no spices. 

Sounds delicious eh? 

It is. Surprisingly so. And hearty. And healthy. 

In case anyone is interested, here's the recipe.

1 onion chopped

2 gloves of garlic chopped

1 stalk of celery (I used 2) chopped 

1 large carrot chopped

1 bunch of broccoli chopped

4 cups of broth (I used one carton of Campbell's vegetable broth because it is what I had on hand. It's not exactly 4 cups but it worked just fine)

3/4 cup of green lentils

Don't worry too much about chopping the veggies into perfect sizes. They will all be blended into mush at the end.

Fry up onion, celery and carrot for 5 minutes. I added a bit of pepper at this point. 

Toss in garlic towards the end and fry that up too. 

Add broccoli, lentils and broth. Bring to a boil and then simmer, lid on the pot, for 30 minutes 

Blend as much or as little as you like (I use an immersion blender)

Done. 

Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese if you're feeling decadent. Dip bread or hearty crackers in if you feel like it. 

A great way to clear out some less than perfect veggies in the fridge. 

Perfect for a cold autumn afternoon.