First of all, who doesn’t love something with a giant dollop of salty cheese on top? 🙂 This soup has it all- loads of fresh herbs, garlic, onion, and red lentils. I knew that I had to move it to the top of my must make list before my herb garden succumbed to the cold weather…. Mmmmm…

Well, I barely remember when my herb garden wasn’t buried under 3 feet of snow, but I do remember this delicious soup! I made it again but used dried oregano this time. Still delicious!! We ate it on a snow day with a homemade Pullman bread loaf, green salad, and cake pops for dessert. This recipe was adapted from Chef Juliana of Foodie on Board. I reduced the lemon juice to 1 lemon. Wonderful!!

For the Soup:

• 2 cups red lentils, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 8 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon red chile flakes
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano or 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 cups store-bought or homemade turkey, or chicken or vegetable stock
• zest of ½ lemon
• juice of 1 to 2 lemons, to taste

For the Topping:

• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 teaspoons minced rosemary
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat and sauté onions with 1 teaspoon salt until translucent. Add garlic, carrot, pepper, chiles, herbs, bay leaves and remaining salt. Stir well and sauté until the carrots are just tender.
2. Add the lentils and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the lentils are soft and falling apart. If you like, the soup can be puréed or left as it is. If you choose to purée, remove the bay leaves first. (I puréed it.)
3. Season the soup with lemon zest, lemon juice and more salt and pepper to taste.
4. Before serving, stir together the feta cheese, rosemary and pepper. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the hot bowls of soup and enjoy.

One Year Ago:

• Spiced Red Lentil Soup
• Baked Orzo, Bacon, Feta & Spinach Custard

Two Years Ago:

• Split Pea Soup

If you like this you may also like:

• Egyptian Red Lentil Soup

About Josette@thebrookcook

I live in Stony Brook, New York on Long Island. I love garlic and baking. My hobby (and love) is to try new recipes. My favorite recipe resources include The New York Times, Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, and Martha Stewart Living. Enjoy!

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