Monday nights are leftover night in our house. It’s a way to clean out the fridge before trash day and to ensure that we are not wasting food. Also, it’s been so dang hot in Philly that the idea of standing in front of a stove is just ridiculous. But as I was scrolling through Instagram I came across the profile of a local Philly blogger, Kaitlin (@icancookthat) and she shared a recipe for a lemony red lentil soup that I just had to try, heat be damned.
Kaitlin shares the Lemony Red Lentil Soup recipe she used on her blog and I followed along with a few exceptions. Instead of tomato paste, I used fresh tomatoes from the garden (mmmm….tomatoes!). I don’t like the taste of cilantro and, in the spirit of cleaning out the fridge, blended spinach into the soup. I also used a bit more spices because spices (I am still missing salt but slowly, slowly spices are helping me forget our relationship).
It took about an hour to prepare before we were ready to eat. We had all of the necessary ingredients at home and I used some old bread to make croutons to garnish the soup. Even The Bee, the pickiest of eaters, had a bowl and declared it delicious. The Librarian described it as no one flavor dominating, it was layers of light but savory, tart but sweet. A little bite, but depth.
Wow! Just making dinner for the family has been such a satisfying experience. In the past, my experiences with soup have been canned soups. I am not knocking them but really I just never knew that soup could be so much more than a tinny taste that you added water too. Creating and preparing my own soups have been a lesson in patience, learning how to experiment with flavors, and allowing myself the chance to fail when things may not go well with the combination of ingredients that I use.
Each week we have been doing a Sunday dinner, what I call “Souper Sunday” in which we make soup and have it for Sunday Dinner. I am excited to share this recipe with family and friends. It’s a new taste but delightful and savory and sure to warm the palate.
When the weather breaks, we hope to have these dinners outside by our fire pit, sipping savory creations and making memories with friends.
Hey, ive never tried lentils! Always wondered what they taste like but i’m so afraid I won’t like them. This recipe looks yummy so I may have to give them a try
The lentils break down when cooking and then when puréed it makes a creamy base! I hope you like it when you try them!
I love lentil soup! I am totally trying this recipe this weekend! Thanks for sharing
It’s so good! Quick and light.
Looks delicious and the flavors sound amazing too!! I haven’t had Lentil soup in a long time, I need to try some!
I’ve never had lentils. I like the idea of cleaning out the fridge and making a meal out of what you have.
The fridge thing…it’s like MacGuyver but we’ve been coming up with some decent meals!
I’m not a lentil fan but I did try a lovely lentil porridge style breakfast dish at a conference this year. I would definitely try this soup.
Yum! I love the idea of souper sunday. I may have to borrow that one for my family as the weather is getting much chillier here.
I love lentil soup. I usually use green or yellow, but never red. I have to try out this recipe.
I have never made my own croutons using left over bread! Great idea I love croutons
Mmmm, I’ve never had lentils before. I’d love to try a lentil soup. I’ve been under a rock.
I need to do Leftover night in my house because these folks act like they can’t eat leftovers.
I have never tried lentils. I may have to give them a try
I used to scoff at leftovers too but, as my grandmother says, hard times make a monkey eat and onion and some days leftovers are delish!
I am not really a lentil lover but looks like this one is worth tryng. Thanks for sharing.
I can’t wait for the weather to finally cool down. I love soups but it’s too warm – once Fall actually shows up I’ll be making them all the time.