September Lentil Soup

I just made this with leftovers and it turned out great, so here's the recipe. In my experience, soups are a great way to save leftovers!

Ingredients for 4 (as a maincourse)

2 cups Puy lentils, soaked for 30 minutes in cold water and rinsed

1 onion, peeled and sliced

4 garlic cloves, peeled

4 carrots, peeled and sliced

1/3 cup kombu, rinsed, soaked and chopped

2 dried cayenne peppers, crushed

3 tomatoes, rinsed and sliced

1 teaspoon thyme

1/4 cup minced fresh flat leaf parsley

1 pinch Guerande sea salt (because I'm in France right, now, but any sea salt should work, and I'm sure black salt would be fantastic)

4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil (optional but lovely)

Put all ingredients in a saucepan except for the salt, parsley and olive oil. Cover with pure water and simmer on very very low heat (the water should be close to boiling but not actually boiling) for 45 minutes to 1 hour. When ingredients are cooked that low and under 1 hour, most of their nutrients are preserved. Once the vegetables are soft,  blend or mash into a smooth and creamy soup. 

Serve into individual bowls with a little salt, a little fresh parsley and a little olive oil if you like.

Because this soup is legume based, it does not need to be accompanied with another form of carbohydrate (bread, rice, etc). Protein content in lentils is enough for a dinner meal, for lunch though you might want to add another protein source to your meal.