We had this soup for dinner last night and it’s now a family favorite! It’s seasoned with smoked paprika…which is not as easy to find as regular paprika but well worth looking for! Bobby Flay turned me on to this spice…which I had never heard of until I saw him using it on one of his shows…now I use it whenever I get the chance. It adds a smokey but mild flavor to your dish…fabulous! Speaking of Bobby Flay…I have a confession…I’ve got a bit of a “foodie crush” on him! 
I told my hubby the other night, while we were watching Iron Chef, that if I could have anyone in the world cook for me it would be Bobby Flay! Anyway, sorry about that…I wandered off into fantasy land there for a minute…back to my soup.
Both the potatoes and the lentils in this recipe start to break down during the cooking process and the result is a thicker creamier soup…which is one of my favorite things about it. Once this soup was done, I turned off the heat and added some baby collard greens from our garden.
We’ve got lots of baby collards, kale, beet greens, turnip greens, arugula, and spinach out back in our garden. The leaves are really young and tender so they hardly need any time to cook.
We even love to mix a big bowl of them with one of my favorite dressing recipes from my Forks Over Knives Companion Book…Jane’s 3, 2, 1 Salad Dressing. The baby greens are so mild and tender that it’s like a fresh, delicious, super healthy mixed greens salad.
Jane’s 3, 2, 1 Salad Dressing: 3 T balsamic vinegar, 2 T whole grain mustard, 1 T maple syrup ~ whisk together in a bowl until smooth
This dressing has become one of my favorites because it’s so fast and easy to whip up, the ingredients are simple and ones that I always have around our casa, and it keeps well in the fridge for quite a few days.
Okay, now I’m off to enjoy movie night with my little sweet peas. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Mine will be filled with shopping and prep work in order to get ready for the Thanksgiving holiday…I can’t wait!
Health & Happiness ~ Melissa
| Red Potato & Lentil Soup |
|
- 1 & 1/2 cups diced yellow onion
- 1 & 1/2 cups chopped celery
- 1 & 1/2 cups chopped carrots
- 4 medium sized red potatoes roughly chopped
- 2-3 garlic cloves ~ minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1 cup red lentils
- 4 cups low sodium veggie broth
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups chopped collard greens (optional)
- Sea salt & pepper ~ to taste
- Place a thin layer of veggie broth in bottom of stock pot.
- Add chopped onion, celery, and carrots.
- Season with sea salt
- Cook over medium high heat until they just start to get tender ~ about 5 minutes (I cover the pot so that they sort of steam and my broth does not evaporate so quickly).
- Add potatoes and garlic and continue to cook for another 5 minutes or so adding a little more broth if needed.
- Add cumin, smoked paprika, and allspice ~ cook for another minute to release the flavor of the spices.
- Add lentils, remaining veggie broth, and 2 cups water.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and then simmer for about 30 minutes or until veggies reach desired tenderness and potatoes start to break down a little bit.
- **if using collard greens, add them the last 10 minutes of cook time.
About Melissa
I’ve been making just a mustard and honey dressing! I find balsamic so strong- Don’t worry about soups! I’m making potato soup tonight!
I made the red potato & lentil soup today…. it was sooo delicious! I ate 3 bowls.
I would recommend simmering for more than 30 minutes though maybe 45 min because the lentils were a bit tough and also 1more cup of water.
So glad you liked it Renae! I just made a double batch yesterday so that I’d have lots of left-overs this week.
Did you use green lentils…or red lentils? The red lentils (that the recipe calls for) cook a LOT faster than the green. But, yes, if you use the green ones they take longer to cook and therefore need more liquid. I actually like the texture and taste of the green ones the best…but, the fast cook time of the red lentils is sure handy! 
I made it tonight with green lentils and cooked for about 45 min total probably. Also used some roasted garlic I had left over from last night. Added a touch of white pepper – LOVED it!
So glad you liked it! It’s now a family favorite of ours…Ty and I love it! I generously season it with sea salt & pepper…but, next time I’m going to try the white pepper…that sounds like it would be really good!