Thursday, November 26, 2009

Greek Red Lentil Soup with Lemon, Rosemary and Feta Cheese

Now that the weather is cooler I'm back into making soups! Luckily I've come across some really amazing ones to share with you guys. I love lentils in soup, especially split red split lentils. I love how they fall apart mmm. So creamy and delicious. In addition to lentils, the soup has lots of other yummy things - onion, carrots, rosemary, oregano, lemons, chile flakes, and feta. A simple ingredient list with such a tasty result. The feta is a great addition but the soup is delicious without it (and then it's vegan!)



If you can use fresh herbs, of course that would be better but I used dried. The recipe gives the option of pureeing or not and I almost always prefer pureed soups so that's what I went for. I wasn't sure about adding the lemon juice for two reasons. One is because some recipes call for the addition of vinegar when I don't think it belongs. I've made several things like that and have stopped listening to the recipes and started listening to myself! Not that I don't love vinegar - I really do. But I just don't want all my food to have that sourness. And the other reason I was scared of adding the lemon juice is because of this awful experience I had once with carrot orange soup where I juiced some oranges and failed to measure the amount of juice before adding it to the soup. Disgusting!! Well not disgusting but I defnitely did not enjoy the orange flavoured soup.

This is a delicious, filling and easy soup to add to your repertoire. Do you have any favourite soup recipes? I've tried out so many but so few are keepers.


I was trying to take photos of Abby but every time I bring out the camera she runs towards it so it's really difficult to get anything other than a blur! When I took this photo, I was tapping my nails on the fridge. She loves it when we do that or scratch at things, then she gets ready to attack it. She was hiding behind the wall peaking around to see.


If this sounds good, you might also like:
White Bean and Roasted Garlic Soup
Curried Sweet Potato Soup
Beet, Barley & Black Bean Soup
Hungarian Mushroom Soup

Greek Red Lentil Soup with Lemon, Rosemary and Feta Cheese
Adapted from Rebar: Modern Food Cookbook

2 cups red split lentils
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 tsp salt
8 garlic cloves, minced
3 carrots, diced
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp red chile flakes
1 tsp dried rosemary
2 tsp dried oregano
2 bay leaves
8 cups vegetable stock
zest of 1/2 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tsp minced rosemary
pepper to taste

1. Rinse lentils thoroughly in a colander under cold running water. Set aside to drain. Heat oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat and saute onion with 1/2 tsp salt until translucent. Add garlic, carrot, pepper, chiles, herbs, bay leaves and 1/2 tsp salt. Stir well and saute until the carrots are just tender. Add rinsed 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 pureed or left as is. If you choose to puree, remove the bay leaves first.

2. Season the soup with lemon zest, lemon juice and more salt and pepper to taste. Before serving, stir together the feta cheese, rosemary and pepper. Spirnkle over hot bowls of soup and enjoy!

28 comments:

kickpleat said...

I've made a red lentil & lemon soup from the NYT that was so amazing, so I'm sure I'd love this one. Love the feta on top.

Hannah said...

I actually happen to have some vegan feta on hand right now... This sounds like the perfect recipe to use it in! Now I've just got to pick up some lentils. ;)

Marcia said...

In the directions you mention adding chiles, but there are no chiles in the ingredients list?

veggievixen said...

yummers! the feta has me drooling.

Wendy said...

I make this soup all the time... it's the best ever! Even with the lemon :)

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

How very interesting. I've never had such a combination in soup form, but it looks and sounds tasty. I tend to freeform my soups. A little of this and that, but I always add legumes cause I like them thick and hearty!

saveur said...

I love soup too. This is one of my favourite soups:
http://www.lifewhile.com/food/2954166/detail.html

grace said...

yes indeed, it's a rare occasion when i can get my kitties to sit still for a picture.
great soup--i love the earthy color!

Teanna said...

WOW Abby is GORGEOUS! And so is that soup! I LOVE red lentils... just printed this out - a perfect soup for the winter!

Dana said...

Red lentils are one of my very favorite things in the world. I LOVE them in soup! This one looks terrific.

the twins said...

wow, that looks great! i love feta. and your cat is adorable too =)

Lu said...

That soup looks so good. Wow! I would love a bowl of it right now. Hehe. Cute kitty, too.

cook4seasons said...

Yum! I will make this soup tomorrow as an alternative to the turkey one I am officially 'over.'
But even better is that you know Rebar! I adore that place and their book is a staple in my house. I think that's what brought Abby around;-)

cook4seasons said...

Yum - this is my dinner tomorrow night, now that I am SO over my turkey soup. But the best part is that you know Rebar! Their book is an absolute staple in our house. Could be what brought Abby back out;-)

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

This is such a beautiful soup. I'll have to try it. Love any lentils soup. Usually I like lemon juice in lentil soup. But I just add a bit less than the recipe calls for. Cute cat!

Chef Fresco said...

I love love homemade soups - they are the best! Cute kitty too :)

custom desk said...

Your cat is so adorable! Good thing you had a clear picture! Animals sometimes have this panic thing about those new things they see.

Homemade Heaven said...

We are in summer now, but this soup would work very well in any weather, love the feta too - lovely salty smoothness!

Christine said...

Love the idea of this flavor combination in soup.

Leng said...

Abby! I love her curious expression. :-)

Johanna GGG said...

yummy soup - cute cat

zinc loves to run at the camera too (as does sylvia) - cats and kids!!! thanks goodness for digital cameras

Boyda said...

I keep coming back and back to this delicious recipe - thank you so much!

eatme_delicious said...

Boyda: I'm happy you like it! =)

Tracy said...

I tried this and it got a thumbs-down from my family. I even used fresh rosemary, and my soup looks just like yours. Bummer...

eatme_delicious said...

Tracy: Oh no I'm really sorry to hear that. :( This is one of my favourite soups. What did your family not like about it? Maybe the fresh rosemary was too strong?

Jenine said...

We make this soup at the cafe I work at all of the time and it's the favourite of our customers. I've finally stopped being lazy and am making it at home. I added extra chilies for added kick :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this recipe! It is one of my very favorite soups. I think I will make it again tonight. :) And if you still haven't tried it with the lemon juice added, do. It's delicious!

Margherita said...

Was looking for a red lentil soup and stumbled upon your website. This recipe looks incredible, I'm going to make it tonight.
Love&Light
Margherita